


Devoting Full Time To Floating

by trulywicked



Series: Under the Sea [1]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Merpeople, BAMF Haruno Sakura, Child in Peril, F/F, Fluff, Gen, Homesickness, Hurt/Comfort, Insecurity, Interspecies Romance, Kidnapping, Light Torture, M/M, MerMay 2020, Misunderstandings, Mpreg, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Past Infertility, Past Miscarriage, Poisoning, Possessive Behavior, Pregnancy, Technically Failed Implantation, do not copy to another site, no beta we die like men, orca Iruka
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-02
Updated: 2020-05-31
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:08:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 31
Words: 32,805
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23956657
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/trulywicked/pseuds/trulywicked
Summary: A collection of Naruto merfolk fics for the month of May
Relationships: Gaara & Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura/Yamanaka Ino, Hatake Kakashi/Umino Iruka, Hatake Sakumo/Orochimaru, Hyuuga Hinata & Hyuuga Neji, Senju Hashirama/Uzumaki Mito, Senju Tobirama/Uchiha Madara, Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto
Series: Under the Sea [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1742554
Comments: 294
Kudos: 572





	1. Day 1 Friends (Iruka-centric)

Warmth from the high sun heating the surface of the water sank into him, the light playing behind his lids as he indulged himself in the moment. If he’d been alone he would have never chosen to float on his back so far from the sheltered cove of home. Alone it was simply too dangerous to allow himself to be vulnerable.

But he wasn’t alone and he needed the heat, the scars that twisted deep into the muscles of his back had been cramping and slowing him and his companions down the last few days. A little heat would help to loosen them until they reached their destination and he could get medical treatment.

He felt a soft nudge at his hip, where the rich brown of his upper body began to fade into black, and opened his eyes to look down at the head peeking above the surface of the water. “Time to move on, Gai?”

“I am most sorry to say so, my friend, but it is not wise to remain much longer. We can travel at the surface for a time if you need, Genma and Hayate can keep watch below.”

He stretched, grimacing at the pull in his back, and flipped over. “No. It’s fine. Better to move than sit still and have something surprise us.”

He breathed in deeply and dove down with Gai to join their other friends. It was safer, not only for him but for the other three, for him to stay in a tight group while traveling. Very few other predators were willing to take him on once they got a good look at the black and white pattern of his tail. His species’ reputation provided protection as well as Gai’s speed, Hayate’s keen eyesight, and Genma’s ability to sniff out danger before it could get too close.

Genma smiled around the sea urchin spine he always had in his mouth. “Feeling some better, Iruka?”

He nodded. Unlike his three friends, he didn’t have gills that let him speak underwater but they’d taken the time and effort to learn the Orca echolanguage of clicks, squeals, squeals, and whistles he could make under the surface.  **“Enough to continue on for a time. Thank you for keeping watch.”**

“Ah don’t be an idiot. You’d do the same for us.” Genma bumped his shoulder softly against Iruka’s then zipped ahead with a flick of his sickle shaped caudal fin to take point.

“Precisely.” Hayate kept pace with Iruka as Gai wove back and forth behind and around them, his agility and speed the perfect skill to confuse any predators or other merfolk that might attack their patchwork pod.

The sun was beginning to set when Iruka heard something and stopped abruptly to listen more closely.

“Iruka?” Gai swam up, his silver and black tail twitching a bit in worry.

Iruka just held up a hand, a silent request to wait, and strained his ears. He could have sworn he’d heard a-

There! A soft clicking whine ahead of them. 

Iruka narrowed his eyes, tapped his ear, then pointed ahead to let his companions know he was hearing something.

“Yeah, about that. I was about to say I can smell blood in the water up ahead.” Genma’s teeth clicked a bit on the urchin spine. “Pretty good amount of-whoa!” He darted out of the way, quickly, when a blue shark mer rocketed out of the dark water ahead of them, trailing blood from a nasty wound in his side.

Iruka reacted before he thought about it, lunging when the shark mer made to turn back to take another shot at Genma. He lashed out with his powerful tail, striking the wounded mer sharply in the head and neck, knocking him out. He made an irritated click and squeal then stilled when he heard another click from ahead.

It was hesitant, questioning, and getting closer.

He gestured Genma in close, just in case, and answered.  **“Hello?”**

A pause then a sharp whistle responded before changing into a stiff, limited echolanguage that was as close to universal as whale and dolphin mers could get.  **“Orca? Come there?”**

Iruka looked at his friends and got a round of nods.  **“Yes.”** He watched, hearing the soft clicks of navigation sonar coming closer until a gray form came into view. A striped dolphin mer. An  _ injured _ one. There were bites on one arm, the pale skin of the mer’s upper dotted with leaking red, a nasty rake from mer claws going down the upper ribs and into the black and silvery gray of the mer’s tail, and what looked like a bite near the base of the fluke.

His hair matched the gray in his tail, one eye was dark, the other covered with a wide strip of kelp tied at an angle around his head, and what looked like a mask haphazardly made from salvaged human cloth concealed his lower face. He also wore a woven belt that held a long thin weapon made from a stingray tail.

Before Iruka could react he heard Gai gasp and then saw the flash of the marlin mer’s tail as he rushed forward.

“Kakashi! Eternal rival! You are injured!”

**“Gai?”** The dolphin mer flicked his tail to edge back from the overly concerned Gai arrowing at him.

“Hello, my friend! But oh, this is not the best meeting. Who was that mer? Why did he assault you?” Gai swam in circles, hands waving in distressed fluttering as though wanting to tend the injuries but unsure about touching and possibly hurting the dolphin mer more.

**“Gai, you know this mer?”** Iruka approached slowly, so as not to spook the mer that was already looking like he might take off just to avoid Gai’s enthusiasm.

“Indeed! This is Hatake Kakashi, my Eternal Rival!”

Genma groaned. “Oh starfish. It would be. You never shut up about him, always on about what you’ll challenge him to when we reach the Cove.”

Iruka caught a flicker of exasperated fondness crinkling the corner of Kakashi’s visible eye and relaxed slightly. He took some kelp bandages from the small pack he carried and, using the more stilted echolanguage, he gestured at Kakashi’s injuries.  **“I dress?”**

He found himself being studied by the dolphin mer, something sharp and too clever in the dark eye, before he received a nod. 

It didn’t take long for him to bind the injuries, keeping them from bleeding further and attracting unwanted attention, and he listened to Gai prying out the story from Kakashi, catching the gist from the dolphin echolanguage due to its similarity to orca.

Apparently the blue shark mer was a criminal named Kisame and Kakashi had been tasked by the Cove’s leader to escort him to the abyss prison. Kisame had managed to escape his restraints and briefly overpower Kakashi before the dolphin mer regained the advantage with his ray blade.

Gai, being Gai, went into loud exclamations about the shark mer’s dishonorable behavior and immediately began insisting Kakashi join them on their journey to the Cove.

Iruka found himself once more the subject of scrutiny from the dolphin mer before he made a gesture to the surface of the water where the sunset was painting the blue in pinks and golds.

**“Up? Talk.”**

Iruka nodded and they all moved smoothly up where he and Kakashi could speak normally.

Kakashi spoke first, his voice faintly muffled by the soaked cloth. “I don’t want to intrude. I’m not likely to be caught off-guard again when I know Kisame is out there so I don’t need extra eyes.”

“You could never intrude!” Gai insisted. “We are all of the Cove, we are family!”

Genma just shook his head at Gai in amusement. “He’s nuts but he’s not wrong. One more in the group home won’t bother me.”

“Nor I.” Hayate agreed before he slipped back under the water to keep watch, just in case.

“You won’t be intruding.” Iruka offered a soft smile and an extended hand. “If you feel comfortable enough to join us and don’t mind a slow pace, you should. At the very least it’s not lonely.”

Speculation flicked through the dark eye before it squinted as though Kakashi was smiling under his mask. “Then I’ll come along with you. I’ll enjoy the pretty company.” 

Iruka felt his face heat at the meaningful look Kakashi gave him before the dolphin mer dove back under the water.

“Damn, that was smooth.” Genma laughed around the urchin spine at Iruka’s gobsmacked look. “Got yourself an admirer there Iru.”

“Oh how wonderful!” Gai splashed in place. “My Eternal Rival and one of my dearest friends!”

Iruka heard what he  _ knew _ was Hayate chuckling just below the surface and hid his face in his hands. His friends were the  _ worst _ .

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Iruka is an Orca mer. Specifically a [Gerlache Killer Whale](http://www.edinz.com/2015/08/gerlache-strait-killer-whales/)  
> Gai is a [Black Marlin](https://www.marlinmag.com/resizer/d0IIiLW0Z0AGWfBm-ZPgb8yaykU=/760x570/arc-anglerfish-arc2-prod-bonnier.s3.amazonaws.com/public/IV7ZY2TBHDXMDIAFDDBZYA6U7M.jpg)  
> Genma is a [Yellowfin Tuna](https://oceana.org/sites/default/files/styles/lightbox_full/public/shutterstock_330743900.jpg?itok=1F-_riEe)  
> Hayate is a [Great Barracuda](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/eb/Barracuda_laban.jpg)  
> Kakashi is a [Striped Dolphin](https://www.tethys.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/research-striped-dolphins-2-1500x630.jpg).


	2. Day 2 Coral Reef (SasuNaru)

He didn’t pay much mind to the bright colors of the reef as he swam around it. He wasn’t interested in the vibrant coral or the numerous other mers that tried to call out to him. He was focused on finding one particular, frustrating idiot. 

It hadn’t even been five minutes since he’d darted off to catch lunch, quite successfully in fact, but had his mate been where he’d left him when he’d returned? No, he was not. 

It was a little insulting, really. Romance was not his strong suit. Hunting? Yes. Fighting? Sure. Murder in defence of his mate? Absolutely. But romance? Planning dates and grand gestures and all the things most mers fluttered their fins over? No.

So the planned picnic being abandoned? Yeah it was insulting and damned annoying. That he couldn’t  _ find _ his mate was worrisome and that just pissed him off more.

He circled around, the aggression showing clearly enough in his body language that the other mers stopped hailing him. No one wanted to get on the cranky side of a reef shark mer. 

He headed to the home he shared with his moron on the edge of the reef, thinking that either his mate had just gone home for some Poseidon-damned reason or he’d come slinking in later with excuses about getting distracted. Silly moron had more shiny moments than a barracuda.

Halfway there, as he swam over a section of bleached, hollowed out coral that no one liked to go near, he caught the scent of his mate and turned sharply, following it into the large hollow of the dead coral.

The anger and sharp complaint he was going to open with died on his tongue as soon as he saw his mate.

Vibrant orange and white fins curled up in a little ball, sharp venomous spines sticking up like dangerous sentinels guarding the mer they were attached to, his mate was the very picture of misery.

He swam down, reaching out and, with the ease of long practice, smoothed the guard spines down. “Naruto?”

“Sorry.” Naruto’s golden head was buried in folded arms, half tucked in the lee of his flamboyant tail. “I left.”

“I noticed.” Setting the net bag of the meal he’d caught down, he settled down along Naruto’s back, tucking himself in between the spines. His arms wound around Naruto’s waist and he pressed a kiss at the base of his neck. “What happened?”

“It’s stupid.” 

“Not an unusual experience for you.” 

“Bite me, Sasuke.” It was a half-hearted snarl, not nearly the usual response.

“Well if you insist.” Sasuke set his sharp teeth at the crook of Naruto’s neck and nipped sharply, just shy of drawing blood.

Naruto yelped, his head coming up from its little nook so he could glare at his mate. “Bastard!”

“Hn.” Sasuke stroked a hand along Naruto’s side, gently skirting the gill slits. “Talk to me, idiot.”

“I just....” Naruto sighed and wriggled, making Sasuke loosen his hold so he could turn around in his arms. “Some of the guppies came through, playing hide and seek, one of them hid in my fins. It was fine...until her mother showed up.”

Sasuke’s arms pulled Naruto in closer. He could guess where this was going now. Most of those on the reef knew that Naruto was exceptionally careful with his spines and never caused harm unless he  _ meant _ to and would  _ never _ hurt a guppy. There were a few, however, that refused to believe anything but the worst about his mate.

“It was the usual I guess. Dangerous, feral.” Naruto pressed his face into Sasuke’s throat. “Called me an Invader and wished the humans would put me on their hunting list before I wreck the reef.”

Sasuke growled. “She’s a bigoted fool.”

“Yeah. So I really shouldn’t have run off. I’m so-”

“Shut it.” Sasuke raked his claws softly down Naruto’s back and around the base of his dorsal fins soothingly. “Don’t apologize for escaping someone attacking you like that. Just because it was only verbal,” he paused and coaxed Naruto back enough to study his face, “it  _ was _ only verbal, right?”

“Well...” Naruto grimaced and looked down at where his pelvic spines where.

Sasuke followed his gaze and snarled when he saw the broken spine and bruised fin still keeping it attached. “Moron, you should have gone to the healer.”

“It’s not that bad. I could just yank it off-”

“Don’t you dare!” Sasuke cursed under his breath and bullied Naruto into a better position for him to see to the broken spine. He was as gentle as he could be as he carefully bound the broken spine in place until he could drag his mate to the healer for proper treatment. “She had no right to hurt you, Naruto.  _ None _ . Mers aren’t like the fish on the reef, everyone knows that. A breed of fish invading a reef isn’t the same as a foreign mer moving to a new reef. Just because you’re a lionfish mer doesn’t give  _ anyone _ the right to hurt you. Especially not some old pufferfish with her head up a sea cucumber.”

“She was worried for her guppy.” Naruto’s hands went to Sasuke’s shoulders, gripping lightly.

“And if you weren’t so good at controlling your fins and spines her actions would have hurt her guppy. Don’t make excuses for a bigot, Naruto. You’ll make me cranky.” Sasuke finished binding the spine with kelp from his hunting belt. 

“You’re always cranky.” Naruto’s spines lowered and softened as he relaxed. He leaned in and nuzzled his cheek to his mate’s. “I’m sorry it ruined your date plans.”

Sasuke leaned into the nuzzling and stroked his hands along Naruto’s tail in soft affection. “Just a change of plan. I’ve still got dinner. We can go eat at the drop-off,  _ after _ you see Tsunade.”

Naruto grimaced. “She’ll be pissed off.”

“Yeah, because she loves you, moron.” Sasuke kissed the corner of Naruto’s mouth. “So do I. If you won’t defend yourself from the stupidity of mers who should know better, at least us do it for you.”

A half laugh bubbled out of Naruto’s throat and he looped his arms around Sasuke’s shoulders. “Like I could stop you? Last time you made that poor old eel shit himself even after I threatened you with a night on the sand.”

“It was worth it.” Sasuke muttered, arms tucking around Naruto’s waist again. “You’re mine, no one gets to mess with you but me.”

Another laugh and then Naruto was cupping Sasuke’s face with one hand. “Bastard.” Then he kissed him softly. “My Bastard. Well I knew what I was getting into with you so I guess I can’t argue too much.”

“Damned right.” Sasuke nipped Naruto’s bottom lip as softly as he could then bent to pick up the net bag again. “Let’s go get your fin taken care of. Then have our octopus dinner.” He had to smile at the way Naruto’s eyes lit up at the mention of his favorite food.

“My sweet Bastard.” Naruto linked hands with Sasuke and pulled him out of the dead coral with an excited flick of his tail.

Sasuke puffed his chest out a little in satisfaction. It wasn’t the date he’d planned but he’d pleased his moron  _ and _ he’d have an opportunity to hunt down the old sea cow who’d hurt his mate and take the botched date out on her tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sasuke is a reef shark mer as are most Uchiha, he is specifically a [Caribbean Reef Shark](https://www.scubadiving.com/sites/scubadiving.com/files/styles/500_1x_/public/import/2013/files/_images/201304/caribbeanreef_maryomalley.jpg?itok=9NZewQYv). Every once in a while a blacktip will show up in the Uchiha family but mostly they're Caribbean's.  
> Naruto is a [lionfish](https://oceana.org/sites/default/files/734564/shutterstock_170589293.jpg). One of two species that are classified as 'invasive' and look very much the same, either the Red Lionfish or the Common Lionfish (aka Devil Firefish).
> 
> And just so you know, Naruto is completely capable of protecting himself and opening the can of whoop-tail. He just normally doesn't when faced with hostility from the other mers of the reef.


	3. Day 3 Hide and Seek

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Children in Peril ahead. Because I'm evil. But no death or severe injury because I'm not heartless.

“Come out, come out wherever you are.” 

The voice was gravelly with a hissing undertone and made the three guppies curl together tighter, hands clamped over their mouths trying not to make a sound. The sunken ship’s metal thick hull and the tinier compartment that carried the smell of long dead fish almost bonded into the metal offered just enough interference of the hunter’s senses that if they just stayed quiet, didn’t cry out or knock against anything, they couldn’t be heard, smelled, or felt.

They just had to be still and quiet and wait the hunter out.

The reef shark guppy held tightly to his friends, positioned so that if they were somehow found, he would be the first seen, the first to be grabbed. It would give his friends a little time, maybe just enough to escape and find safety.

He hunched closer when he heard the rough scrape of scales against the ship’s hull, squeezed his eyes tight when that  _ awful _ voice hissed out again.

“Olly-olly oxen free little guppies. I won’t hurt you,” a dark chuckle, “much.”

More scraping, a large body sliding into the cramped confines of the broken ship hull.

“I’ll make it quick. One little bite.”

The guppies clung tighter to each other, the shark guppy feeling the tentacles of his octopus mer friend winding around his tail and the fins of their cardinalfish companion fluttered anxiously before she forced them to still. He pressed his forehead against hers, eyes squeezing shut for a moment as he listened, the hunter no longer talking.

He strained his ears, his own extra senses impeded by their hiding spot, to find the scrape of rough scales and hearing nothing.

The fear clutched in his belly, the silence almost painful. 

He felt a stab of warning, a small jolt of electrical impulse that the much larger mer hunting them gave off, and it was just enough to let him surge back, pulling his friends with him as claws pierced the metal of their hiding compartment and tore a hole large enough for an arm to reach in.

“Found you!”

It was only because they were already moving, the reef shark guppy pulling his friends out of the compartment’s opening, that the claw tipped hand missed them. They darted, quickly as they could, terrified screams finally breaking free, down the broken hull of the ship, the hunter surging after them.

They were able to dart and dodge around the debris within the ship without losing speed, the hunter behind them slowed down by having the break through or go around the more solid pieces, keeping them just ahead of the mer after them.

They made for the gap in the ship’s hull, just big enough for them to slip through, the hunter would have to break out or go back and around. The reef shark guppy waited for his friends to get out first and was halfway through the hole when a hand wrapped around his tail just above his caudal fin and pulled him back. His hands scrambled at the hull, trying to find purchase enough to get push off and get free.

“Kagami!” 

His hands were grabbed by his friends and they pulled, trying to help. 

“No! Swim! Get out of here, get to the reef!”

“Not without you!” 

His belly scraped on the sharp metal of the hull as the hunter pulled him back, his friends nowhere near strong enough to get him free. He whimpered, knowing he was done for, a light snack for a passing rogue mer.

A large shadow passed overhead just before a deep rumble reverberated through the water and then suddenly there was the sound of rending metal as  _ something _ slammed into the ship from above, breaking the hull. 

Barely an instant later, Kagami felt his tail released and surged out of the hole, into his friend’s arms. He heard horrible crashing and snarls from inside the ship and smelled blood in the water. Not interested in sticking around to find out what was going on, he linked hands with his friends and they swam hard and fast toward the reef.

They were halfway there when they were stopped again, this time by a wild tiger shark.

Kagami made a soft whine as the shark turned toward them and put on a burst of speed, aiming for him.

At the very last second he heard that rumble again and the shark turned tail and swam away. He slowly turned his head and looked over his shoulder.

There was a huge shark mer there, all white with red tattoos, red eyes looking down at them.

Kagami spun around then launched himself at the adult mer. 

“Tobirama-sensei!”

“Kagami,” Tobirama caught the guppy close, pulling him into the shelter of his body with a relieved sigh. He looked at the other two guppies, holding his other arm out and catching them when they followed Kagami’s example. “Hiruzen, Koharu. Are any of you injured?”

Koharu fluttered her fins, snuggling as close as she could, and shook her head. “I’m alright.”

“I’m not hurt but I think Kagami’s scratched up some.” Hiruzen wrapped a tentacle around Tobirama’s arm, clinging to the large mer and the safety he offered.

“Not bad.” Kagami’s face was buried against Tobirama’s shoulder. “Just on my belly.”

“Then we should go home and get them treated.” Tobirama flicked his tail, cruising lazily toward the Cove’s main reef with the guppies in his arms. “Afterward we will discuss how you came to be at the wreck field so far outside the safe zone.”

Hiruzen ducked his head. “That’s my fault. I wanted to see what the cultivators were doing with the reef seeding. Kagami and Koharu didn’t want me to go alone. That mer came out of nowhere and we got turned around and wound up at the ship field instead of back to the reef.”

“Hmm.” Tobirama didn’t scold him yet, there was time enough for that once they were back at the reef..

Kagami relaxed a little more, the soft rumble of the hum settling his nerves. “He herded us. I didn’t notice until we were too far out. I’m sorry-”

“Hush. This is not your fault.” Tobirama held him just a little closer.

“How did you know we were in trouble?” Koharu leaned her head on Hiruzen’s shoulder.

“Kagami’s shishou came looking to see if he had lingered after training.”

Kagami winced. “Ohhhh shishou’s gonna be so pissed.”

Hiruzen drew in on himself. “He’s gonna turn me into sea kabobs.”

“Unlikely, though you may wish he would by the time he is done having his hissy fit.” Tobirama drawled, swimming over the wall of the reef. 

Kagami heard his shishou’s loud voice bellowing his name and decided to do the smart thing and pretend to be asleep. He’d let sensei deal with his shishou’s temper, he’d had enough stress for one day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kagami, like all Uchiha, is a reef shark mer. Caribbean variety.  
> Hiruzen is a [Giant Pacific Octopus](https://www.tnaqua.org/images/uploads/our_animals/Giant_Pacific_Octopus_1200.jpg)  
> Koharu is a [Banggai Cardinalfish](https://www.neaq.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/2016_fish_banggai-side-1.jpg)  
> Tobirama is a leucistic Great White. Which I was DELIGHTED to discover [is a thing that genuinely happens.](https://images.earthtouchnews.com/media/1516663/12615336_459273310932567_1890620426355378852_o.jpg)


	4. Day 4 Hunter (SakuOro)

A soft splash caught the attention of the mer sunning himself on the rock and a golden eye cracked open to inspect the sound. 

The sight of silvery hair and thunderhead gray eyes made thin lips curve and he closed his eye again, content to know his mate was nearby as he napped in the sun. 

He allowed one hand to trail down into the water and scoop some up to pour it down over the large swell of his belly. An action that clearly agitated the pup within if the sudden squirming was any indication.

He chuckled and rubbed the taunt flesh, feeling the wriggling, pushing, and thrashing of his offspring. 

Another splash caught his ear, close by.

“Lovely?”

The content smile remained. “Our pup didn’t like the cool water after so much sun.” He reached out, eyes opening to look at his mate’s concerned expression, and took the hand of his mate, bringing it to the round belly. “They’re making their disapproval clear but nothing is amiss.”

His mate’s face grew soft with awe and wonder as he felt the impatient movements. “They’re strong, and opinionated.” A teasing smile curled his lips. “Much like their mother.”

“Hmm, their father has plenty of opinions of his own, Sakumo.” Golden eyes shone with amusement. “What have you been up to?”

Sakumo leaned in to brush a kiss at the corner of his mate’s mouth then scooped up water in his own hand to pour it over the long white coil of his mate’s tail, moistening the scales. It wasn’t  _ necessary _ he knew, not like it would have been for him or another type of mer, but he knew his sea snake mate was more comfortable with his scales kept damp and he was always more than willing to see to his mate’s comfort.

“What makes you think I’ve been up to anything?” He nuzzled the edge of Orochimaru’s jaw, nipping softly. “Beyond admiring my very beautiful mate that is?”

“Charming beast.” Orochimaru reached up to grip Sakumo’s hair, tugging lightly to bring him into a proper kiss. Then he bit sharply at his mate’s bottom lip, ignoring the startled yelp. “Tell me.”

Sakumo just chuckled and lifted a mackerel from where he’d held it behind his back. “I thought you might be getting hungry.”

Orochimaru moved quickly, pulling Sakumo up onto the rock with him, half wrapping him in his tail, scales sliding against the gray and black of his mate’s dolphin tail. He ran his tongue up Sakumo’s throat then kissed him again. “You are being incredibly sweet, hunting for me. I think that deserves a reward after I have lunch.”

Sakumo made a soft groan and wrapped his arms around Orochimaru. “I like looking after you, Lovely, and you carry our pup.” His hand settled on the mound of his mate’s belly again. “The least I can do is catch food for you so you can enjoy the sun as long as you want. Not,” he nuzzled Orochimaru’s neck, shifting so he sat on the rock behind his mate and Orochimaru could lean back against him and eat, “that I have any objection to any reward you might wish to give me.”

Orochimaru used scalpel sharp claws to open the belly of the mackerel, tossing the bowels back into the water. He scooped the liver out and brought it to his mouth, making a pleased hum as he ate the organ. “Good, I expect you to accept exactly what I intend to give you after I finish my meal.” 

He smiled at the sound his mate made and snuggled back into Sakumo’s arms to properly enjoy the meal his hunter had brought him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sakumo is a [Striped Dolphin](https://uk.whales.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2018/08/striped-dolphin-nicola-hodgins-4-1024x762.jpg)  
> Orochimaru is a [Banded Sea Krait](https://www.aquariumofpacific.org/images/made/images/olc/92sea_kraitcrop_530_328_80auto_s.jpg) with unique coloring. Rather than the bands being black on him, they're a lovely lavender shade to match his eye markings.


	5. Day 5 Boat (InoSaku)

The shadow drifted over the sandy sea floor and caught the attention of the mer tending her kelp garden. Pale blue eyes lifted to see the silhouette of a boat bottom floating on the surface of the water. 

Excitement sparked in the mermaid’s heart but she didn’t move as yet. It may not be the same boat, the same human aboard it, and approaching too soon could get her into trouble.

She waited, watching as an anchor was lowered carefully, neatly missing any of the coral or her garden and as soon as she saw the beads wound through the chain near the anchor she shot up from the bottom.

She slowed as she neared the bottom of the boat, circling just below it with lazy flicks of her purple and yellow tail. She didn’t want to  _ look _ too eager for her human’s company after all. That wasn’t the way you got a human mate. You had to tread carefully between seeming indifferent and interested.

When she felt her human had waited long enough, she broke the surface of the water at the back of the boat, finding the lovely face of her human leaning over with a soft smile on lips painted a delicate peach.

“I was beginning to think you weren’t home.” 

“You might have missed me in a few minutes.” She swam back and forth easily in front of what her human had called a swim platform, drinking in the sight of pretty light pink hair held back from a sweet round face by a twisted cloth tied around her human’s head, the petite body covered by the stretchy cloth humans wriggled into for their odd modesty, bare legs swinging over to dangle in the water as her human sat on the swim platform. 

She’d been waiting for that and with one push of her tail surged up from the water and onto the platform so she sat beside her human. The delighted laugh that rang from her human at the splash of water that caught her in the face made the mermaid’s belly feel fluttery. 

She reached out to catch the delicate, calloused hand of her human in hers, inspecting the color on the tips that matched her human’s lovely green eyes. “Why do humans color their claws?”

“We paint them for the same reason you wear shells, pearls, and bone combs in your hair, Ino. It’s pretty.”

Ino smiled, pleased to know that her human thought her hair and its adornments were pretty. “You haven’t been by in several days.” Her tail splashed a little to keep herself damp.

“I had to go inland to defend my thesis. If it’s accepted I’ll have my doctorate.”

“And will you come more often then or will human business keep you inland?” Ino didn’t fully understand what her human meant when she spoke about a ‘thesis’ and ‘doctorate’ but she recognized that it was some specialized human education and important to her human.

“I don’t know yet. I hope I can get a research grant so I can track the restoration of the reef.”

Ino looked at her human, watching as neat little blunt teeth chewed the paint off the lovely lips. The reef her human spoke of was close to Ino’s home, very close. Close enough that Ino could see her human every day, perhaps even spend nearly all day with her human. For her human to want that, and look so nervous saying so, meant that she’d successfully enticed her human.

She smiled and leaned in close. “Well, I suppose I should wish you good luck shouldn’t I, Sakura?”

“Oh,” Sakura’s lips parted in surprise and her eyes went wide before flicking down to Ino’s mouth. A lovely wash of pink flooded her face. “I-If you want, that would be...good.”

Ino lifted a hand to play with the tips of Sakura’s hair then wound her arms around Sakura’s shoulders, pulling her close. Smiling into the wide eyes she closed the final distance and pressed her lips to Sakura’s.

The kiss was soft and sweet, a gentle declaration of intent that had their eyes fluttering closed. Ino made a hum of satisfaction when she felt Sakura’s hands settle at her waist. She pulled back to search the flushed face of her human before nuzzling her nose softly against Sakura’s. “Good luck.”

Mischief lit her eyes and then with a flick of her tail she pulled Sakura off the platform with a shriek, catching her mouth in another kiss as they sank under the surface. She’d breathe for her human for a little while, she wasn’t ready to let go yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ino's a [Royal Gramma](https://cdn11.bigcommerce.com/s-a5210/images/stencil/1280x1280/products/321/564/royal_gramma_2__73437.1373572737.jpg?c=2&imbypass=on).


	6. Day 6 Kelp Forest (MadaTobi)

The sound of tussling made a pair of red eyes crack open and glare at the opening of the cave he’d created his den in. It was well hidden by the deep green kelp of the forest that grew along the shore edge of the Cove so he didn’t have any concerns that his home would be invaded but whoever was outside was  _ loud _ and he was not happy to be awoken by the noise.

He made an unhappy rumbled and flipped over and curled in on himself. He’d been running constant patrols for weeks and was finally giving in to his body’s demands for sleep. Whoever was being an idiot in the kelp could go to the vents as far as he was concerned.

“Try that again you feral little shit and I’ll-” a roaring yelp that was entirely too familiar forced the mer attempting to sleep to lift his head.

He hissed a curse and got out of the sponge bed in the center of his nest chamber, grabbing his warrior belt along the way out. Tying it around his waist, he swam silently through the kelp, his white hide flashing between the fronds, toward the sound of the loud cursing that came from his brother’s best friend and his occasional bedmate.

He heard the trilling, pulsing sound of seals and huffed. He spotted two seals making aggressive rushes at a large reef shark mer, aiming for his rib gills, and the mer lashing out with his claws, trying to chase the seals away.

Two hard beats of his tail sent him rocketing forward and slamming into one of the seals hard enough to stun it and he bared his teeth at the pair, making a threatening rumble low in his chest. It was a warning to quit pulling this shit in  _ his _ kelp forest or he’d be happy to eat them himself.

The seals shot off into the waving green forest, unwilling to pester two shark mers at once.

He turned and gave his visitor a long, irritable stare. “What are you doing here, Madara?”

“Your brother wanted someone to ‘check’ on you and everyone else but the guppies are terrified of the kelp forest. They think it’s haunted.”

He lifted a brow, folding his arms and looking down at his pure white skin and tail before meeting Madara’s eyes again. “Really.”

“Not by you. They think there are real ghosts here. Triton only knows why.” Madara scooped the mass of black hair out of his way, grabbing a piece of kelp to tie it back. “Hashirama wanted someone to make sure you weren’t overextending yourself.”

“I  _ was _ sleeping before your little disagreement with the local seals woke me.”

“Hey I’d rather not deal with those pests! I hate seals. Aggravating fin nippers at best.” Madara grumbled then glared off into the kelp. “Are they here often? That’s dangerous for the guppies.”

“Are you implying,” his voice was cold, dangerously even, “that I would allow anything to harm the guppies near my home?”

Madara knew he was in dangerous waters but Kagami was one of the guppies that clung to the other mer and it was his job to look after him. “You aren’t always with the guppies when they come here, Tobirama. It’s a legitimate concern. If those seals will come after  _ me _ like that, would they hesitate to go at the guppies?”

The rumble vibrated in Tobirama’s chest again, anger that throbbed in the water for a long moment before he calmed himself down. He nodded once, icily. “I will concede that point. No. The seals normally do not come into this part of the kelp forest. I am usually deterrent enough.”

Madara swept Tobirama with a look. All the Senju clan were Great White mers and when beside his brother, you would notice that Tobirama was sleeker, built more for speed than the powerful slab of overenthusiastic muscle that was Hashirama, but he was still large, a good three feet longer than Madara, and more than strong enough to rip any threat to pieces. “Yeah, I can see that.”

Tobirama’s brows both arched and he let his arms drop from his chest. “If that is all?”

“What, not going to offer me some hospitality?” Madara tilted his chin up, pugnaciously. “No one but the guppies has even seen your den. I’m beginning to think you don’t have a real one and just sleep out among the kelp.”

Something knowing flashed through Tobirama’s eyes and he angled his head in a slow motion. “Madara, are you angling for an invitation to my home?”

“Why would I? You can keep your kelp hovel,” he blustered and waved a hand wildly at the forest around them only to find one of the kelp stalks tangling around his wrist. He yanked and cursed when it held fast. Reaching out he was about to cut through the stalk with his claws when a white hand caught his trapped wrist.

He tried to jerk back as Tobirama nearly loomed over him, the too pretty face leaning in, but the gentle grip on his wrist kept him in place. He felt the heat that Tobirama gave off when his body crowded close.

“Is that so? You are not attempting to find your way into my den?”

Madara sputtered and pokered up. “It’s not that big a deal. You’ve seen mine!”

A slow smile crossed Tobirama’s face. “So I have, and your nest within it. Multiple times, in fact. Madara,” it was a soft purr as he leaned in and bumped his nose softly at the edge of Madara’s jaw, “are you asking for a more intimate arrangement than we’ve had?”

Madara hissed, embarrassment crawling down his spinal column and making his tail twitch. He’d been wanting  _ more _ than sex with Tobirama for some time now but never known how to bring it up without jeopardizing what they already had. He didn’t want to lose the albino mer in his bed just because it wasn’t enough anymore. He’d rather have that than nothing.

But he wasn’t the sort to back down even if it might cost him what he wanted most so he spat out, “So what if I am? What if I want more? What are you going to do about it?”

Tobirama’s lips nudged gently at Madara’s neck gills and he cut neatly through the kelp Madara’s wrist had tangled in with his claws before looping an arm around Madara’s waist and pulling him in close. “For now? I am going to bring you back to my den with me, you can sate your curiosity about my living quarters while I get some  _ sleep _ and when I wake we will discuss exactly what you want between us. Whatever that is, I have no intentions of simply letting you go so long as you wish to remain in any sort of relationship with me, Madara.”

He would deny essentially melting with relief until the day he died but Madara did just that. “Good. That’s good you smug bastard.”

“Hmm.” Tobirama nipped lightly at the pointed tip of Madara’s ear. “Overdramatic twit.”

“And still you’re bringing me back to your den, what does that make you?” Madara shivered in reaction to the nip.

“A besotted idiot.” Tobirama smirked when that actually shut Madara up and pulled the other mer through the kelp back to his den for that nap.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Madara is a reef shark, also Caribbean variety.


	7. Day 7 Nighttime (NejiHina if you squint)

A shift in the water current passing through her nest chamber had her stirring, pale lavender eyes opening slowly to the darkness. She made out a familiar shadow and pushed herself up from the soft sandy floor, her brows drawing together in concern. “Ne-”

“Shh.” A pale arm caught the limited light as it lifted to put a finger in front of her visitor’s mouth. Then he held out his hand, eyes almost the same shade as hers nearly glowing.

She tilted her head but reached out, flapping the wing like pectoral fins that stretched from just below where her arm met her body to her whip thin tail to lift fully from the sea floor. 

She allowed the other ray mer to lead her out of the maze of coral tunnels their family had created as a home, gliding along with him silently. 

He said nothing until they were nearing the outer ring of the Cove’s coral reef. “I have something I want you to see, Hinata.”

She smiled softly. “In the middle of the night?”

“We can’t see it any other time. I know Naruto is dragging Sasuke out to see it too but it will take him at least an hour to manage. I want you to see it before anyone else starts splashing around.” He turned his head to look at her, soft fondness that she’d once thought long lost to her in his face. “We’re going to the shallows near the west shore.”

She squeezed his hand and flicked her fins, swimming a little faster to find out what he wanted to show her. 

He slowed as they approached the shallows and then led her along the line where the waves broke at the sandbar. 

Suddenly the water all around them lit up with a vibrant, bright blue so beautiful it made her gasp. “Oh!”

She swept a hand through the water around her, watching it light up in a halo around her hand. Hinata turned eyes full of wonder to him. “Neji, it’s beautiful! What is it?”

A flick of his fins and he was gently towing her through the water again, the blue glow flashing in and out. “A type of algae. It flashes blue to ward off predators but any agitation sets the reaction off.” A smile warmed his face and he pulled her into a spin among the flashing, glowing water.

She laughed, her hair sweeping behind her and catching the light as she looped her arms around his shoulders to hold on, trusting him not to throw them off course. “So amazing. How did you know it would be happening?”

“Naruto told me.” He pulled them to a stop near a rock outcrop, surfacing so they could watch the water glow blue where the waves crashed. “I’m not sure if someone else told him or not. He has some interesting pockets of knowledge here and there.”

She hummed and leaned her head on his shoulder. “Thank you for stealing me out to see this. It’s-” she squinted a bit at the sudden flashing further out along the shore. “Neji, is that...”

He recognized the dolphin mer easily. “Hatake, yes. I didn’t think he was the type to play alone in the surf.”

Hinata smiled and lifted her hand to cup Neji’s chin and guide his gaze to a spot just beyond Kakashi. “He isn’t alone. That’s Iruka-sensei.”

“Well,” he grinned a little, “about time.”

She laughed softly as Kakashi leaped out of the water in an arch above the orca mer he’d been trying to impress for years, glowing blue droplets flashing off of him until he hit the water again in a ghostly blue shape. “We shouldn’t watch them.”

“I suppose not.” He pulled her with him to the other side of the rock, affording Kakashi and Iruka some measure of privacy. He nuzzled his cheek to hers. “I’m glad I could share this with you.”

She leaned into the soft touch, closing her eyes, content for the moment. “So am I. I hope we can enjoy it again some night.”

Neji folded his fins gently around her, her own curling in slightly to allow it. “I’ll always come sneak you away for the light show, no matter what.”

The promise warmed her and she happily curled closer into the embrace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All Hyuuga are [Manta Rays](https://www.nationalgeographic.com/content/dam/animals/pictures/fish/group/manta-rays/01-manta-rays-nationalgeographic_2166294.jpg) and pretty AF.


	8. Day 8 Sea Monster (Pre- SakuOro)

The cave was at the furthest edge of the Cove surrounded by the twisted remains of shipwrecks in a tight maze that could easily injure the unwary. Most avoided it, and the resident within, due to the whispers of untold horrors within. Dead creatures in human-made jars, poisons and venoms covering every surface, captured merfolk twisted and warped by unnatural means chained to the walls, all the work of the monster that made the cave its home.

But every so often a desperate mer would brave the ship graveyard, in need of something they couldn’t obtain by less dangerous means. Too many never returned and it only fed the rumors.

Sakumo had never put much stock in rumors and certainly never believed in old folk tales of sea monsters. Take away the fear fed whispers and the mer that made the old cave their den was known to have solutions to illnesses and injuries that were beyond the Cove’s healer. As said healer had officially washed his hands of Sakumo, he saw no reason not to see if he could seek help from the mysterious Orochimaru.

He made his way through the maze of dead ships, each beat of his fluke shooting pain through him, his fever forcing him to stop and rest every few moments until he reached the mouth of the cave.

He peered curiously into the opening, the only thing visible on the walls was some blue ball algae and clicked out in dolphin echolanguage,  **“Hello?”** Silence was the only thing that answered him.

He swam into the cave, looking for any sign of the resident.  **“Pardon my intrusion, I’m looking for Orochimaru?”**

He went deeper, following a curving tunnel and exiting into a grotto. His head breached the surface of the water and he scanned the view of rocky walls and a stone ‘shore’ that led to an above water tunnel.

“Hello?” He heard something move in the darkness of piled rocks and swam closer to the stone shore. “If you aren’t Orochimaru do you know where I might find them?”

“What business do you have with me?” It was a husky, near hiss of a voice.

Sakumo swam up to the shore and hauled himself up onto it so that his fluke was fully visible. It had been tangled in some metal wire on a hunting trip and by the time he’d returned to the Cove and gotten it removed, infection had already set in. “I understand you may have a treatment that will work on my injury. It is beyond the Cove healer’s skill.”

“Hmm.” There was more scraping and then Orochimaru slid into view.

Sakumo felt the breath leave him at the sight of the pale sea krait mer. Slender and fit with black hair pulled back in a braid to keep it out of a sharp, serpentine face. The bands on Orochimaru’s tail were a pale lavender rather than black, a color that was echoed by markings ringing golden eyes, and the sea snake mer had a faintly amused tilt to thin, perfectly shaped lips. This was the most beautiful creature Sakumo had ever seen in his life and he didn’t quite know how to react.

“Something to say?” A slim, dark brow lifted.

“You’re...” he trailed off searching for the right word.

“Monstrous?” That smile took on a cruel edge.

“ _ Lovely _ ,” Sakumo breathed it out and watched the golden eyes widen briefly before they narrowed and the beauty slithered over to him.

A cool hand found his brow, pushing aside his dripping mop of gray hair he half closed his eyes, leaning into the touch. The coolness felt good against his overly hot face.

“You have a severe fever. Unsurprising that you’re hallucinating.” It was a dry murmur.

“I’m not hallucinating.” Sakumo protested. “I may have a fever but you are the most beautiful person I have ever seen, fever or not.”

Orochimaru laughed faintly. “I will remind you of those words once your fever breaks and you’re lucid enough to sneer.” The sea krait tail wrapped around Sakumo and pulled him into the water again. “I will see to your fluke. I won’t be able to prevent scars, it’s gone too long without decent treatment.”

**“That’s okay. I don’t mind scars.”** Sakumo lost himself slightly in the sensation of smooth scales wrapped around him.  **“What would you like in return, lovely snake?”**

A faint snicker escaped Orochimaru. The dolphin mer was well and truly out of his mind with fever to call the local monster lovely. “We can discuss that after you’re well again.”

Sakumo hummed in the back of his throat and allowed Orochimaru to pull him to another chamber with an air pocket and stone shelf padded with what looked like human made cushions covered in a slick, rubbery material. 

He was deposited onto those cushions, sadly losing the feel of being wrapped in Orochimaru’s coils as the snake mer went about gathering items from the chamber. A lot of human made looking things. “What are those?”

“Disinfectants, analgesics, salves, tools for treating wounds,” Orochimaru smirked, “even some sedation if necessary. I have to strip out the dead and infected tissue before healing can even come close to beginning. It will hurt.”

“Human techniques.” Sakumo folded his arms and rested his chin on them, watching curiously. 

“Yes. They can be crude at times but they do  _ work _ .” Orochimaru brought all the items to the stone shelf where Sakumo lay and began disinfecting the tools, his hands, and Sakumo’s tail after spraying a topical analgesic onto the wound.

Sakumo bared his teeth and growled at the sharp sting but didn’t struggle or squirm. “I don’t doubt it. How did you come to learn human healing?”

“I know one or two humans who study the ocean.”

“Risky. I’m glad you didn’t find humans that would try to take advantage of or capture you.” 

“It would have been the last thing they ever did.” Orochimaru focused on the task at hand, allowing Sakumo to talk and ask questions, answering them easily to help distract him. The dolphin mer still wound up ripping holes in the cushions with his claws when Orochimaru had to go deep into the wound but he was a remarkably good patient, holding his fluke still despite the pain.

Eventually, Orochimaru was able to finish cleaning the wound and spread a salve over the raw edges before wrapping it in water resistant bandages that would keep out bacteria in the water and allow the salve to do its work. 

Sakumo melted back into the water when Orochimaru allowed him to. His fluke still hurt but it was a better hurt, rather than the worrying constant stabbing pain.

“I’ll show you where you’ll be staying while you heal. I am not letting the Cove’s hack ruin my work so you will remain with me until you are recovered.”

Sakumo wasn’t about to complain though he could tell Orochimaru believed he would, upon recovery, complain loudly and denounce the sea krait mer as a monster. He hoped, once he proved that he was sincere in his compliments, that Orochimaru would allow him to court the lovely snake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There will never be a 'Sakumo meets Orochimaru for the first time' that I write where Sakumo isn't wonderstruck to the point of speechlessness at the first sight of Oro.


	9. Day 9 Food (SakuOro)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Follow Up to yesterday's installment. Because I couldn't leave it there.

The, by now, familiar clicks and whistles of dolphin echolanguage caught Orochimaru’s attention and the snake mer looked up from the project he was working on then carefully sealed the components away. He swam toward the mouth of the cave. Curiosity had always been his biggest vice and this time he was wondering just what the ridiculous dolphin had brought by now.

It was...odd. Orochimaru had held every expectation that as soon as he’d recovered, the dolphin mer would have been  _ adamant _ in revoking what he’d said when afflicted by fever. At best there may have been a lingering interest out of gratitude for a few days, one that he’d done his best to put an end to with sharp, biting words. But not only had Hatake Sakumo continued to express appreciation for Orochimaru’s beauty, he’d also taken to bringing gifts.

Orochimaru was no fool. He was aware that the dolphin mer was courting him, bringing pretty bits of shell, exotic samples of coral or algae, a bag full of pearl oysters, human made equipment that may very well have been stolen off a research boat, even a pretty flower shaped hair pin made of a metal Orochimaru suspected was platinum. What he didn’t understand was  _ why _ .

Reaching the cave opening, Orochimaru looked around then just  _ stared _ at the sight of the dolphin mer keeping the jaws of a conger eel nearly as long as he was shut with strong, capable hands while the rest of the eel was tied up in hunting net, keeping it from thrashing very much. “What in Poseidon's robe?”

Sakumo smiled brightly.  **“Hello. I hope you don’t mind that it’s so large. I did try to find a smaller one that could be eaten in one sitting but...well this fellow took exception to me hunting near his pit.”**

Orochimaru settled his tail in a coil on the sea floor and sat in the center, still staring at the charming mer that just kept coming back and the eel he’d apparently hunted and captured for Orochimaru’s dinner. “You brought a live eel.”

**“You mentioned that you’re fond of eel and it’s so large that killing it would have had every predator in the sea coming and picking away at it before I could bring it back. Alive it can be divided and preserved for future meals.”** He offered a sheepish tuck of his chin.  **“I really did intend to catch a smaller one.”**

“I...do not understand you and your interest in me.”

**“You’re beautiful, strong, I like the way you snipe about folk behaving foolishly. I** **_like_ ** **you, Orochimaru, and wish to learn more about you.”**

It was sincere, Orochimaru could tell, even if the sincere declaration was a bit ridiculous while Sakumo was still holding the eel’s mouth shut. He still wasn't certain what to do with Sakumo’s interest but it might be rewarding to go through the process of discovering more about the dolphin mer. “Very well.”

Orochimaru struck out swiftly and killed the eel in one efficient swipe of his claws. He heard Sakumo make a click that was half swallowed but recognizable as the word ‘lovely’ and couldn’t help but smile faintly. Yes, getting to know Hatake Sakumo properly would be rewarding. “Come help me clean it in the cave.”

He swam back into his home, followed by the dolphin he might just decide to claim as  _ his _ in the near future.


	10. Day 10 Waves (Mito-centric HashiMito)

The bed of single frond seaweed rippled back and forth with the movement of the water. It brushed against the long, flowing fins of the mermaid that lay among it to watch the surface of the water rise and dip. 

Deep violet eyes watched the underside of the waves and the sunlight that filtered down unimpeded and felt an aching pang in her chest. These waves were so gentle compared to what she’d grown up with. Gentle and clear and sunny more often than not. It was so different from the swirling, violent waters of her homeland. There silt churned up and clouded the water, offering concealment for predators from their prey. Storms thrashed at the surface, clouds covering the sun nearly every day, and the sharp rocks that crowded the sea forced it into dangerous eddies that caught the unwary in their inescapable grasp.

She had grown to adulthood in rough, savage waters where her people had needed to work together as a cohesive group simply to survive. Tiny petty slights hadn’t been allowed to fester and privacy had been nonexistent for the good of the pod.

These waters she lived in now were rich, plentiful in food and sunlight. Hunters were more wily, quicker, and more merciful in how quickly they finished off their prey because of the clarity of the water. The few rock outcroppings and cliffs were too smooth to twist the currents into whirlpools. The coral reef was more vibrant, the colors sometimes almost searing to the eyes. It was beautiful, even breathtaking, and she loved it. She truly did.

But today...today she missed her homeland. Today she felt the lack of savage, thrashing, silty waters like a physical ache. She missed the eddies and the rocks, missed rising to the surface to feel stinging drops of rain from a vicious storm on her face, missed curling together with her pod in a tangle of fins and carefully arranged spines. She missed her mother’s soft humming and lullabies coaxing them all to sleep. She missed her father’s booming laugh that frightened the baitfish away. She missed her brother’s fumbling at the sight of the pretty selkie maid he was infatuated with, missed teasing him over it and being tackled in mock offense until they were both giggling.

It was a deep, painful throb today, a beat that rolled along with the gentle waves of this new home.

She squeezed her eyes closed even tighter, as if she could block out the sunlight so easily and fool herself into believing she was in her childhood home again though she knew better.

Her hands tightened into fists at the futility of wishing. Then the sunlight faded, dimming, and she snapped her eyes open, thinking that perhaps a storm might be moving through.

Only to see the large body of her mate hovering feet above her, his expression worried and hesitant, sunlight shining behind him like a halo, his long hair floating free in the gentle current.

The worry and love in dark eyes soothed some of the ragged ache in her breast, reminding her of  _ why _ she’d left her homeland to come here. She stayed among the kelp bed but lifted her hand, holding it out for him.

He rushed down to her, his Great White’s body powerful enough that he was there in an instant with a single beat of his tail. His hand engulfed hers and he settled beside her, bringing her hand to his lips for a tender kiss. “What can I do, beloved?”

She sighed and shifted so her head was pillowed on his shoulder. “There’s nothing to be done, Anata.”

“You’re sad.” He gathered her in, unafraid of her venomous spines, cuddling her in his thick, muscled arms. “A bad day?” He knew that she sometimes had them, sometimes had days when the distance from her family and homeland struck her hard and left her out of sorts.

She trailed delicate claws over the corded arms around her, light as a whisper. “Partially.”

“Perhaps we could make a-”

“No, Anata.” Love filled her in a sweeping wave for her mate, who would offer, who could think of easing her heartache by making a journey that would take a year minimum. “The Cove needs you, needs your protection. As strong and skilled as Madara and Tobirama are, it is  _ your _ reputation that truly guards the Cove. You can not leave for so long and I will not go without you.”

She felt the vibration of a rumble in his chest, not a growl as so often came from his brother, but something akin to a purr meant to comfort and soothe.

“Did anything happen to trigger this?” He nuzzled at her shoulder and the carefully placed scars of the mating bite on her gill covers. “We could adjust decorations or schedules if that would help.”

She turned in his arms to cup his beloved face in her hands. “Something happened but it will not be stopped. A very good thing, good news, Anata. But...bittersweet.” She brushed her lips against his softly then took one of his hands and pulled it around to her belly. “I thought of how I wish our child could know their grandparents and my brother and it made me miss home.”

She felt his tail thump against the sea grass and sand in his surprise and watched pure joy light up in his eyes. “Mito! You are...we...I will be...”

“A father, Hashirama. You will be a father. I am pregnant and in a year we will have a little guppy in our arms.”

She was expecting the joyous laugh and the way he launched off the sea floor, her in his arms, to leap from the water, careful to bear the brunt of the water impact upon landing, in excitement. Nothing about her mate was small or contained, everything from his body to his emotions was huge and unfettered and she would not have him change for anything.

“A guppy! Our guppy!” He cradled her close, nuzzling at her and scattering kisses over her face. “Oh Mito, my beautiful mate, such a wonder you are.”

“Merfolk have been carrying guppies and pups for thousands of years, silly shark, I am hardly a wonder in that regard.” 

“But this is  _ our _ guppy and  _ you _ are carrying it and that is a wonder, a gift beyond price.” His earnest face and the pout on it made her heart flutter.

“I will concede the last point.” She kissed the corner of his mouth. “Do not go overboard celebrating this evening when you tell your brother and Madara.” She knew Hashirama would never be able to keep this new from the two he held closest as family.

“Oh! Oh! Tobi’s going to be so happy for us! And so  _ fussy _ over you and the guppy! He’ll be such an amazing uncle!” Hashirama began swimming for their home, keeping her in his arms. “We should tell him together. And Madara! Madara will be all gruff and grumbly but you know he’ll be the first to offer to guppy sit.” 

The ache in her heart, the homesickness slowly seeped away with Hashirama’s excitement over their guppy and his happy certainty of the two men he called brother, who she had come to consider family as well, being as pleased as he was.

It was not her blood family but she had family to share in the news and welcome her child into the world. It was enough of a balm to her soul that she could smile and mean it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mito is a [Clearfin Lionfish](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c1/Clearfin_lionfish_%28Pterois_radiata%29.JPG/800px-Clearfin_lionfish_%28Pterois_radiata%29.JPG)  
> Hashirama is a [Great White](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/vFgyFLbLejE/maxresdefault.jpg).


	11. Day 11 Lure

A giggle escaped the mer crawling along the sand of the sea floor between two different stands of coral. He’d just finished a successful research session in the Anemone District and was on his way back to the stand of coral he’d left his godson waiting in.

He was almost there, crossing a large section of bare sand, when he registered the buzzing click of echolocation. He tilted his head, ruffling through his memory to place the specific species. “Hm, orca mer. Wonder what they’re doing in this section of the reef?” 

He considered heading in the direction of the echolocation to satisfy his curiosity but a rare prod from his conscience reminded him that it had been a little over four hours since he’d stuffed the guppy in the coral hole. The kid had to be getting hungry by now and the bag of shrimp he’d picked up in the Anemone District would die before getting there if he dawdled.

However, he was almost across the clearing and to the next stand of coral when the echolocation suddenly increased, growing loud enough that it gave him a headache. He started to look around, a loud growl layered into the echolocation was all the warning he got before something slammed him into the coral with enough force to crack a few of the gar scales he wore as armor.

**“You! How dare you be so irresponsible!”** The snarling face of the orca mer bared viciously pointed teeth that spoke loudly of how easily they could rip flesh apart.

He waved his stumpy fins around, lifting his hands harmlessly. “H-hey now, I assure you that whatever you think I’ve done wasn’t on purpose. How about I buy you an urchin shot and we talk about this?”

Dolphin echolanguage came from just off the side, the tone terrifyingly familiar.  **“So leaving a guppy alone for hours at the edge of the reef where humans like to fish was an ‘accident’ Jiraiya?”**

He turned his head slowly, eyes wide, and saw Hatake Kakashi floating a fathom away with the recognizable bundle of orange and white fins of the guppy he’d hidden away cradled in the dolphin mer’s arms. 

Jiraiya opened his mouth, about to defend himself with the fact that the guppy was just fine, but then he heard the kid whimper and shift and saw a small tearing wound near the fluttery caudal fin and the excuse died in his throat.

The orca pinning Jiraiya growled again and pressed him harder into the coral.  **“He got hungry and went looking for food. Can you guess what happened?”**

The savagery in the question made Jiraiya actually shiver.

Kakashi answered.  **“He smelled the burly trail lure coming off the back of a fishing charter and followed it. He was smart enough not to approach the boat and hunt around the reef instead but spearfishing humans like to shoot first and ask questions later.”** He ran his hand over the golden hair of the guppy in his arms.  **“Exactly why were you leaving your godson alone for so long Jiraiya?”**

Jiraiya heard the danger in the mildly asked question loud and clear. He just wasn’t entirely certain if the scar faced orca pinning him or Kakashi was the one to fear more at this point. “Ah-haha, funny story that...”

The orca glared, eyes a chocolate brown that should not look so hard.  **“Well? We’re waiting.”**

Jiraiya winced as more of the gar scales broke under the grip the orca had on his shoulders. Those were impressively strong hands for a mer that wasn’t one of the Cove Warriors. “I had to do a little recon and-”

**“You mean that you went to the Anemone District.”** Kakashi’s voice was flat, the violent glare that came from his uncovered eye enough to make the toughest of mers quail beneath it.  **“You left a** **_guppy_ ** **alone for hours so you could go play with the ‘flower garden’.”**

Jiraiya swallowed. “I did tell Minato that I wasn’t the right choice to-” the growl from the orca cut him off and he felt claws start to sink into his shoulders. He dropped a hand to his waist, reaching slowly for a weapon to defend himself.

**“Iruka, let him go. He’s not worth it.”** Kakashi gently shifted the guppy in his arms.

The water  _ throbbed _ with the furious growl and echolocation that didn’t segue into language but after a moment Iruka flung Jiraiya away like trash, giving him a harder push with his fluke. Then he swam over to Kakashi and gently scooped the guppy into his own arms, clicking softly to comfort him.

Chubby little arms lifted up and curled around Iruka’s neck, the guppy clinging with an upset sniffle. 

Shame flooded Jiraiya at the obvious proof of how badly he’d failed in the most important task he’d ever been given. He already knew that he wouldn’t be getting another chance. Even if Hatake would be inclined, unlikely, the orca mer would rip him apart before allowing him near the guppy again.

Kakashi met Iruka’s eyes and pointed at the surface, certain that the guppy didn’t know any echolanguage yet. He followed Iruka up so they could properly introduce themselves to the guppy before finding the little one food and treatment for his injury.

Jiraiya watched them go, guilt and old shadows of grief weighing him down. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was originally going to be a humorous one about Jiraiya getting 'lured' by a pretty mer that tries to eat him in the no9t fun way but my muse was all NOPE! And refused to let me write until I turned it into this. Poor little Naru.
> 
> Jiraiya is a [Frogfish btw](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRP4nAGMYCY).  
> Specifically a [Warty Frogfish](https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/tickflicker/1930233/12637/12637_original.jpg).


	12. Day 12 Treasure (SakuOro)

Sakumo swam through the twisting corridors of the cavern, slipping through the narrow passageway that was hidden behind a thick growth of algae. Even as maneuverable as he was there were a couple spots in this particular passage that were tricky for him but that was the point. 

They’d made certain the small grotto could not be found or breached easily by anyone who didn’t already know of its existence. What was held within was far too precious to risk some random mer or even a nosy human diver getting near the grotto.

He rolled the rock at the end of the passageway aside so he could swim through, then muscled it back into place. 

Looking up he saw the flat tip of his mate’s tail just dipping into the water over the edge of the long rock spire in the center of the grotto. He smiled and swam up, hearing the soft crooning of his mate as he drew closer. When he broke the surface his breath caught just a bit, a reaction he doubted he’d ever get over, at the sight of Orochimaru.

His beloved mate was in the center of the rock formation where a small, deep pool of water had formed, shoulders just above the edge of the pool so that his belly and hips were in the water, his tail draping up and over. And in the cradle of Orochimaru’s arms was their most precious treasure.

Sakmuo swam up, making clicks to be certain his mate heard him, and lifted himself up onto the rock so he could look down at their beloved pup. He nuzzled a kiss to Orochimaru’s temple as his mate ended the lullaby that had soothed their child to sleep. “Hello, Lovely.”

Orochimaru hummed. “Welcome home. How was hunting?”

“The herring are schooling, it was easy and quick. Not quite quick enough though. I missed Kakashi waking up.” He couldn’t help but be disappointed. 

“He woke solely to eat.” Orochimaru chuckled and turned his head to press his lips to Sakumo’s softly. “So you didn’t miss much.”

“Every moment I miss is too much.” Sakumo adjusted himself so he could curl his arms around his mate, sliding under Orochimaru’s so he cradled both mate and pup. He looked down at their pup, smiling at the way he held a lock of his mother’s long black hair in a tiny fist. “I see he caught you again.”

“In more ways than one.” It was dry and Orochimaru indicated two tiny, tiny pinpricks on his chest above his nipple.

“What? He bit you? Teeth already?” Sakumo frowned, carefully tracing a finger over the minuscule punctures. Their pup was only two weeks old and most mers didn’t develop teeth for at least a month. Dolphin mers like himself and Kakashi didn’t get their teeth until they were three to four months old. 

Orochimaru chuckled and gently opened Kakashi’s mouth with one finger. “Not ‘teeth’ beloved, fangs.” He gently pressed at Kakashi’s gums and two tiny, needle thin, white fangs were exposed. “His venom isn’t in yet but I don’t doubt it will come in soon.”

“Oh,” Sakumo breathed and the smile that took over his face was full of pride, “amazing. Just like his Mama.”

“You say things like that,” Orochimaru said, breath hitching just a bit, “and you make me want to tackle you into the water and I am in no way recovered enough for that.”

Sakumo kissed the edge of his mate’s jaw. “I love everything you are, Lovely. Some day you’ll come to expect it.”

Before Orochimaru could respond, their little treasure cracked dark eyes open and made an unhappy squeak. It made him laugh. “Oh did we wake you, precious?” He lifted Kakashi up a little closer in his arms, deftly freeing his hair and settling their pup’s cheek against his collarbone. 

Sakumo caught the hint and lifted Orochimaru up and back with him into the water in a smooth, gentle motion so they, all three, were in the main water of the grotto, heads still above water.

Orochimaru wrapped his tail around Sakumo and began singing again. One hand ran down Kakashi’s tiny back to his fluke, just like his father’s, and back up to soothe their pup back to sleep.

Sakumo took up the lullaby and watched his mate drift off to sleep along with Kakashi. His treasures held secure in his arms, all was right in his world.


	13. Day 13 Critters (Guppy Naruto Cuteness)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay these are all officially the same universe now. Obviously not chronological but they're all the same universe. I'll be going back to each chapter that introduces a new mer and putting their species in the notes.

Iruka followed the sound of giggling through the reef, exasperation bubbling in his chest. If Naruto had draped the Cove’s guard towers in sea cucumbers again he was going to ground the guppy until he was  _ forty _ . His little ward had a habit of slipping away for mischief whenever the subjects in class started to confuse him. 

Normally Kakashi found him before Naruto got into  _ too _ much trouble but the dolphin Warrior had been sent on an open ocean mission to guard the Pod Leader as he spoke with the humans. It was a tense situation, Hiruzen wanting to end the worry of discovery by going public with their existence but it could go wrong in so many,  _ many _ ways. And all of those ways would hurt the guppies and pups most of all.

Iruka rounded the edge of the coral wall and stopped when he spotted Naruto. Not creating mischief for once. The guppy was sprawled on his back, fins and spines stretched out, a  _ herd _ of seahorses clinging to his fingers and fins, and giggling.

“That tickles! I missed you guys too but c’mon! I need to get back before Iruka-sensei notices I’m gone and I get in trouble.” Despite his protests, Naruto didn’t move to dislodge the seahorses, careful and gentle with them right down to the ones hanging onto his venomous spines.

It made Iruka’s heart melt in his chest and the exasperation soften.  **“A little late for me not to notice.”**

Naruto yelped and bolted upright, trying to gently nudge the seahorses clinging to him behind his body. “Iruka-sensei! I...um...I was just...”

Iruka folded his arms, doing his best to keep a stern look on his face, and lifted a brow.  **“Yes? You were just?”**

One of the seahorses slipped off Naruto’s fins and drifted toward Iruka.

“Miki get back here!” Naruto couldn’t reach out quickly without dislodging the other seahorses.

Iruka reached out, feeling the ring of doom in the back of his mind. Naruto had  _ named _ the seahorses. That spelled trouble. The kind of trouble that meant  _ pets _ . He allowed the drifting seahorse to curl its tail around his finger. It was still immature, just barely big enough to cling to Iruka’s larger finger.  **“Miki, huh?”**

“Um...uh-huh.” Naruto nodded sheepishly, knowing he was busted. He stopped trying to hide the rest and let them cling where they liked.

Iruka had to swallow the laugh that wanted to escape at the sight of Naruto’s fingers, fins, and even hair being covered in tiny seahorses. There was a good fifty of them.  **“Naruto, why are you naming seahorses?”**

“Um...well...you see I was gathering some octopus ink last full moon-”

**“The full moon you told Kakashi-san you wanted to camp in the garden while I was at the teacher’s planning meeting?”** Iruka gave him a long, steady stare.

Naruto’s shoulders drew up but he nodded. “Yes.” His voice was small. 

**“We’ll discuss that later, along with** **_why_ ** **you wanted octopus ink. Keep going.”**

“I found their papa hurt near the drop off-” Naruto hunched tighter at Iruka’s distressed click. He knew he wasn’t supposed to go near the drop-off alone, that it was dangerous. “I’m sorry! I didn’t notice where I was until I saw the papa seahorse. I wasn’t looking. I know that’s bad. I didn’t mean to.” His fins fluttered in, the seahorses all moving to a different spot, making him the very picture of utter misery.

Iruka darted in and immediately scooped Naruto up in his arms, holding him close. He pressed his forehead into the bright blond hair, not caring in the slightest when several seahorses found a new place to cling among his own hair.  **“I’m just glad you didn’t get hurt. You** **_could_ ** **have been hurt, attacked by Poseidon only knows what. That is why Kakashi and I don’t want you near the drop-off or out at on the reef** **_alone_ ** **, Naruto. What would we do if something happened to you?”**

Naruto snuggled in, making a soft whine. “I’m sorry. I won’t do it again. I promise.”

Iruka held him close for a long moment, swaying.  **“Okay, you’ll have consequences later. For now, you found the seahorse?”**

Naruto nodded. “His fin was torn off and his tail was broken really bad. I think he’d been attacked by a crab while he was having his babies. He didn’t have very many, maybe a hundred, after I found him. I...I could leave the babies alone. I know they’re not tended to, that they fend for themselves but I...I had to gather them up and look after them.”

Iruka sighed. “So you’ve been sneaking off to raise seahorses.”

Naruto nodded. “I know they’re not pets. Not really. I just have them here where it’s safer and sheltered and a bunch of copepods are cuz it’s near the Cove dump. I like looking after them and...”

Iruka rubbed Naruto’s back, carefully skirting the spines.  **“And?”**

Naruto’s head tucked up closer under Iruka’s chin. “I know it won’t last but it’s almost like having friends.”

Iruka’s heart  _ hurt _ hearing that and he held Naruto a little tighter. He knew Naruto was lonely and that the other children’s parents encouraged them to avoid him because he was a lionfish mer. It was unfair and one thing Iruka couldn’t make better.  **“You can’t keep sneaking out, Naruto.”**

Naruto nodded, fins drooping.

**“** **_But_ ** **I can allow you to go take care of the herd every once in a while during class.”**

“ _ Really? _ ” Naruto looked up, big blue eyes wide as sand dollars.

**“Really. With conditions.”** Iruka made his voice stern.  **“First, your grades don’t drop. Second, no more sneaking out of class** **_or_ ** **home. Finally,** **_never_ ** **lie to me or Kakashi-san about where you are again. Do you understand?”**

Naruto nodded frantically. “I understand. I promise. I promise I won’t lie about where I am anymore. I won’t sneak out ever again! ....um grades...”

Iruka chuckled and kissed Naruto’s forehead.  **“Just tell me when you’re having trouble Naruto. I** **_want_ ** **to be able to help you. You’re my guppy.”**

Naruto made a soft trill, as close as he could get to echolanguage, and wrapped his arms around Iruka’s neck. “Okay. I can do that. Thank you, Iruka-sensei.”

**“You’re welcome. Now let’s get this herd back to their spot so you can get back to class for the day.”**

“Okay!” Naruto’s grin was wide and bright, happiness pouring off him like sunlight as he gathered the seahorses up and carefully coaxed them into the coral and kelp home he’d found for them.

Iruka had to smile. He hoped that one day Naruto would find others who would appreciate him for the loving heart he was. 


	14. Day 14 Curious (Guppy Naruto and Orochimama)

Naruto poked his head up just above the surface so everything below his eyes remained under the water and watched Kakashi-ossan’s Mama pouring something from one human made vial into a bigger vial. 

He tried to be as silent as possible and swam closer, hoping Kakashi-ossan’s Mama wouldn’t notice him and get mad. Naruto had been left in the water of the grotto while Kakashi-ossan spoke to his father about something to do with Iruka-sensei and the sponge Kakashi-ossan had tried to give him. 

That day had been funny, Iruka-sensei had somehow accidentally smacked the sponge back at Kakashi-ossan and hit him in the nose with it. But now Naruto was in the grotto, bored, and the only other mer around was Kakashi-ossan’s Mama. Naruto had seen him before, heard him speak, and knew he loved Kakashi-ossan very, very much. He didn’t want to do something that would make Kakashi-ossan’s Mama mad and maybe make Kakashi-ossan mad too.

But he was so  _ curious _ about what the snake mer was doing. If he could get close enough without being noticed maybe he could figure it out, without bothering Kakashi-ossan’s Mama.

He was so absorbed with creeping close and watching the pale hands work that he missed the way golden eyes flicked his way and pale lips curved up just at the corners.

Then he yelped when he was lifted higher in the water and Kakashi-ossan’s Mama turned his way.

“Hello, guppy.”

Naruto looked down and saw the pale banded snake tail that was boosting him up then up at the golden eyes. His fins flattened and he ducked his head a little. “Um. Hi?” 

The golden eyes softened. “Would you like a closer look at my project?” 

His mouth dropped open. “I can? I won’t bother you?” He squeaked when the tail wrapped around his waist, deftly avoiding his spines, and lifted him out of the water and over to a big human made tank in it that had a perfect view of the table with the vials and instruments.

He watched as Kakashi-ossan’s Mama reached out and  _ ruffled his hair _ . Only Kakashi-ossan and Iruka-sensei had ever done that before! He couldn’t help but lean into the touch and smile.

“Curiosity is never a bother, guppy.”

Naruto felt the tail release him into the tank and half wanted to cling to it. It had felt nice, almost as nice as Iruka-sensei’s hugs. But he didn’t want to lose the permission to watch so he didn't reach out. “My name’s Naruto, Kakashi-ossan’s Mama.”

Amusement sparkled in golden eyes. “Naruto then. I am Orochimaru.”

“What are you doing Kak- I mean Oro-chi-ma-ru,” his face scrunched as he carefully pronounced the name.

Orochimaru smiled and began explaining the water quality investigation he was doing on the dying edge of the reef, backtracking now and then to explain more simply when Naruto didn’t understand.

After a time, Naruto folded his arms on the edge of the tank he was in and rested his chin on top. “What about the new boats that are coming out past the reef at night? They make lots of noise. Maybe they’re leaking?”

Orochimaru paused and tilted his head. “New boats?”

“Oops.” Naruto ducked his head, his tail wiggling sheepishly. “I’m not s’posed to know about that.”

“Hmm.” Orochimaru moved over to the tank and ran his hand over the guppy’s hair again. “Snuck out did you? That’s dangerous to do for a guppy alone.”

“I know.” Naruto’s fins drooped but he still leaned into the touch. “But they’re  _ loud _ and I wanted to know what they were doing. I didn’t go past the edge of the reef though. That’d just be  _ crazy _ .”

Orochimaru chuckled and lifted Naruto out of the tank, carried him to the grotto pool, and sank down. “Plenty of healthy curiosity in you, guppy. I’m loathe to tell Kakashi or Iruka-san and stifle that  _ but _ ,” he hid his smile when Naruto drooped again from where he’d been perking up, “in this case I’m afraid I must.”

Naruo sighed and caught a drifting lock of black hair, absently playing with it. “Figures. Iruka-sensei’s gonna have a manatee.”

Orochimaru had to laugh and playfully tickle Naruto’s fins, getting a giggle from him. “However, I see no reason to tell Kakashi right away. I think, if you’d like to stay with Sakumo and I, that you and I should go see just what these loud boats are up to tonight, sate that curiosity.”

Naruto’s eyes popped wide. “Really?!”

“Mmm, yes. Though you will be facing the consequences of your solo investigations tomorrow. Is that al-”

“Yes!” Still chubby guppy arms flung around Orochimaru’s neck, hugging tight as Naruto forgot himself in his excitement. “Yes, yes, yesyesyesyesyesyes! Please!”

Orochimaru absolutely melted at the excitable guppy’s joy over something that was really very simple. He also made a mental note to whack Jiraiya with his tail the next time the frogfish mer came crawling around. How his old friend could have so badly mishandled this bright little spark was beyond him. It was all to the good that Kakashi and Iruka had found the guppy when he’d been in trouble and adopted him.

He rubbed Naruto’s back and swam through the cavern. “Then, little one, tonight we’ll see what those boats are about after dinner. Perhaps it will even give Kakashi an opportunity to convince Iruka-san that he’s genuine.”

“Bout what, Orochi-mama?” Naruto tilted his head cutely, unaware of the blended name he’d just given the snake mer. “Does it have to do with the sponge Iruka-sensei broke his nose with? Cuz I think that was an accident. He got all blushy and apologized over and over. How come people blush anyway?”

Orochimaru smiled at the question and settled on the floor of the grotto with the guppy, delighted to answer his questions and encourage that curious streak safely.


	15. Day 15 Tank (InoSaku)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kidnapping, violence, one quick instance of torture, unscrupulous humans, and a BAMF Sakura ahead.

She spun in the small tank, barely enough space for her to turn around but barely enough was still  _ enough _ to get up decent speed. So she spun until she had enough momentum and then  _ slammed _ her tail against the wall of the tank hard enough to make it rock and her captors yelp.

“Shit! It’s gonna break the tank!” One of the ragged, unkempt humans that had managed to dredge her up from her home stuck something on the corner of the tank where it was starting to separate. Ino bared her teeth at them and began to spin again. She was  _ not _ letting these filthy human criminals get her to shore and off the boat they’d hauled her onto.

She was  _ furious _ that these illicit hunters had snuck into the Cove, had slipped around to  _ her _ home section of the reef, clearly intending to abduct a mer. At the same time she was grateful they hadn’t caught one or more of the guppies that liked to sneak into her garden. She wasn’t a warrior mer, wasn’t trained to fight and defend, but she still had claws and she would use them once she broke out, would use them to cut through any of these scum that dared try stop her from returning to the water.

She hit her tail against the tank wall again and heard a satisfying crack. Before she could celebrate, another human poked something into the tank through a small hole up top and pressed a button and her world lit up in pain. She screamed as an electrical pulse hit her like a wild bull shark, her body arching in the water.

It was brief but the pain left her shivering and weak and the human that had shocked her knocked his dirty knuckles on the tank, the loud echo through the water making her flinch.

“You behave your pretty tail or I’ll zap you again. If you die it’s no trouble to go back and get a different mermaid.”

Ino hissed at him and punched the tank wall, bracing herself for another shock.

Before the human could do it, however, the boat she’d been abducted on shuddered as something hit it hard on the underside of the hull.

“Captain! There’s others in the water! And another boat bearing down on us!”

Ino pressed her ear against the tank wall and tried to hear above the panicking humans. She heard the faintest sound of clicking just before there was another jolt that scooted the tank a fraction off the cabinet it was strapped onto. She recognized Orca mer in the clicking and smiled, knowing that Naruto had somehow found out about her abduction and gotten his entire circle to come help.

Then she heard something even more amazing and far more beloved.

“Shannaro!” Sakura leaped from the bow of her research boat and landed on the deck, driving her shoulder into the gut of the first idiot who came at her then grabbing his arm and twisting, giving herself leverage to throw the bastard head first into the metal fishlocker.

Ino’s mouth fell open, lips trembling as she watched her Sakura, her shy, studious, little human, punch the human who’d shocked her in the face hard enough that blood spurted from his nose then throw him overboard where he was  _ certain _ to be ripped to shreds by Sasuke and probably Kiba at the bare minimum.

She shouted when another human went at Sakura’s back, thumping her tail hard on the tank wall in warning, and whined when the filthy bastard’s fist caught Sakura’s cheek. 

Sakura rolled with the momentum of the punch, grabbing the attacker’s wrist and threw him down before stomping on his chest hard enough something  _ cracked _ . Then she spun, a small scratch on her cheek where the attacker’s ring had cut it, and ran at the tank, grabbing a boat hook on the way and jamming it into the crack of the lid. “Ino! Hang on, I’ll have you out of there in a minute.”

She put her entire weight behind using the hook as a lever until the lid of the tank cracked up and she was able to shove it off. Then she was jumping up onto the cabinet and leaning down to scoop Ino into her arms. “Ino, oh your poor tail!”

Ino made a soft whimper and curled her arms around Sakura’s shoulders, pressing her face into Sakura’s throat. 

“I’ve got you.” Sakura jumped down and ran for the stern of the kidnappers’ boat, her path unimpeded as the rest of the bastard crew was too busy trying to abandon ship safely as a variety of mers kept crashing into the hull. She gathered her legs under her, took a deep breath, and jumped over the boat motor into the water, Ino still held close as the sea closed over both of their heads.

Ino warbled slightly and turned her head to see Naruto, Sasuke, Sasuke’s older brother Itachi, Kiba, Iruka, Kakashi, Shikamaru, Choji, and even Hinata breaking the horrible ship that had taken her apart. Her arms tightened on Sakura and she made a soft hiccup. Her friends and her Sakura had all come for her.

She saw Itachi turn from where he’d been clawing holes in a life raft and come directly toward her and Sakura. He zipped around and caught them in a gentle hold, swimming up to the surface.

Sakura gasped in air as her head broke the surface but she didn’t let Ino go, holding her tighter. 

“Reckless human you have here, Ino-san.” The amused voice drawled over Sakura’s shoulder. “Brave though, and a decent fighter.”

“Screw you pretty boy.” Sakura bit back, pressing her scratched cheek to Ino’s. “Ino, sweetheart, where are you hurt? Your tail’s already bruising and missing scales.”

Ino felt Itachi towing them to Sakura’s boat but she didn’t pay attention to it, nuzzling at Sakura. “Some scrapes from the net and being dragged into the tank. But I hurt from that evil shock that filthy bastard gave me.”

Sakura hissed fit to suit an angry cat. “I hope Sasuke turned him into chum.”

Ino laughed shakily. “Oh I’m sure he did.” She lifted her head a little and cupped Sakura’s face with one hand. “You were so beautiful.”

“Oh so the hag  _ does _ have someone who likes her face.”

The voice had Ino frowning and turning her head, ready to snap at whoever was insulting  _ her _ human. She blinked at the sight of the unknown human waiting with a hand out on the swim platform of Sakura’s boat. Dark eyes flicked curiously to Itachi as he pushed them toward the unknown human.

“Ignore, Sai. He’s socially stunted.” Sakura kept one arm around Ino while taking Sai’s with the other hand and letting him pull them up onto the back of the boat. 

“Who is he?” Ino was more than content to be curled up on Sakura’s lap though she eyed the extremely pale, dark haired human that Sakura had called Sai suspiciously. He seemed a little too interested in Itachi for having never met any of them before.

“Research assistant...sort of. He volunteers so he can see the reef and paint it at his leisure.” Sakura softly brushed Ino’s wet hair out of her face. “I’ve known him for years. He’s a little weird and doesn’t people well but he’s a good person.”

Ino buried her face into Sakura’s throat again, trusting her human. “How did you know I was-”

“Naruto came and got me. He thought that another boat would help if the kidnappers were in a larger vessel that the pod couldn’t take on.” Sakura’s arms tightened a little. “I almost lost my  _ mind _ hearing that you’d been taken by mer hunters.”

“Short trip.” Sai muttered, moving to grab some medical supplies for marine life. 

“Can it.” Sakura barked at him.

Ino laughed, the sound hitching faintly. “It was amazing seeing you take those bastards on. I didn’t know you could fight.”

Sakura pressed a kiss to Ino’s temple. “Martial arts. I have a pretty bad temper, my parents thought the outlet would help.”

“Yes, help you beat people up more easily.” Sai didn’t shut up but then he never did. He handed Sakura a small box before going to lean over the side of the boat to watch the other mers destroy the mer hunters and their boat. His eyes following the blacktip mer that had towed Sakura and her girlfriend to the boat.

Sakura didn’t respond, choosing to gently settle Ino on the deck. “Will you let me treat those scrapes until we get you home and you can go see your healer?”

She offered her human a little smile. “I’m yours to do whatever you want with.”

Sakura caressed Ino’s cheek. “Goes both ways, Sweetheart. I love you.”

Ino’s fins fluttered and her heart turned over in her chest. She caught Sakura’s hand and pressed a kiss to the center of her palm. “I love you too,” her voice was soft, full of wonder. “We-”

“Ino!” Naruto’s voice bellowed from the water. “Are you okay? Are you hurt?!”

She sighed and smiled ruefully at Sakura. “-should probably talk more when we have privacy.”

Sakura leaned in and softly kissed her. “It’s a date.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Itachi is one of those odd genetic quirks of a [Blacktip Reef Shark](https://d.newsweek.com/en/full/1521796/carcharhinus-melanopterus-shark-blacktip-reef-stock-getty.jpg) among the Caribbean Reef Sharks in the Uchiha.  
> Kiba is a Bull Shark mer.  
> Shikamaru is a sea lion.  
> Choji is a sperm whale.


	16. Day 16 Love (MadaTobi)

Tobirama swam into his cavern with a relieved sigh. He was exceptionally pleased to be  _ done _ with his duties for the foreseeable future. At minimum he could hide away in his den for seven days, hopefully more, until the stupidity of the reef was over and done with.

He’d always disliked this time of year, when a large number of fish and other life in and around the reef took the opportunity of the warmer waters to reproduce. Every year, without fail, normally sensible mers would lose their minds and join in the mating fracas. It was ridiculous and  _ unnecessary _ . 

Mers didn’t  _ have _ a breeding season, they didn’t need one to reproduce or bond, and the insistence of so many on rushing to mate or breed when all the rest of the reef did just made dealing with the inevitable squabbles and fights between competing  _ idiots _ take up far more time than it should.

What was even more annoying was when some mers came fluttering their fins around at  _ him _ trying to entice him into a roll in the kelp or, Poseidon save him, fathering a guppy, no strings attached. Everyone in the Cove knew that he was in a relationship with Madara and had known since his brother had decided to announce it loudly in the middle of the winter solstice celebration while buzzed on urchin spines.

Yet certain individuals continued to approach him when the entire ocean seemed to turn its attention to mating and breeding. It irked him. Irked him enough that he’d nearly destroyed a diplomatic relationship with a savage rejection earlier. If not for Hashirama’s swift intervention, he might have started a war.

He paused in the outer chamber to strip off the warrior belt and stretch, shaking off the tension that his thoughts and the day itself had sunk into his muscles. He was looking forward to curling up in his nest for a nap and perhaps might even brave the reef again to seek out Madara.

He slipped into the secondary chamber that housed his nest and immediately turned when he felt someone else there. 

Before he could see who it was, he was driven back against the cave wall by the explosive force of a hard, familiar body. A grunt escaped him and he growled, “Madara what-”

His demand for answers was cut off by a hard, biting kiss, one of Madara’s hands finding his wrists and pinning them to the wall over his head as sharp teeth and a rapacious tongue plundered his mouth. He couldn’t help but groan into the savage kiss, heat bubbling through him as the rough skin of their tails scraped together and Madara’s other hand dragged claws, just shy of cutting, down his body, brushing against his lateral line.

It was delicious, racy, and beyond unexpected. And that had a warning bell chiming in the back of Tobirama’s mind through the lust starting to cloud his thoughts. 

Madara had been waiting for him in his nest a few times before but  _ never _ had he laid in wait and practically assaulted him with desperation like this. And it  _ was _ desperation, a frantic edge in the kiss, in the touch. For all his dramatics and fiery personality, Madara was almost never frantic, certainly never this frenzied when it came to sex. This was wrong,  _ something _ was wrong with his lover and it iced over the arousal like a plunge into arctic waters. It was more than enough to make Tobirama struggle lightly against Madara’s hold, twisting his wrists gently to get free.

Madara growled deep in his chest and the grip tightened, teeth nipping at his mouth. The increased aggression just reinforced the knowledge that something wasn’t right and Tobirama decided enough was enough. He flexed his body, slamming his tail against the cavern wall to send them both flying away from it, and wrenched his wrists free.

He flicked his caudal fin and drove Madara down to the soft spongy bed in the center of his nest, captured the reef shark mer’s hands with his and pinned them up by Madara’s head. “What the fuck, Madara?”

Madara just growled again and thrashed, trying to get free. “Mine!” He snarled it, surging up and biting at Tobirama’s jaw. “You’re mine!”

Tobirama pulled back just enough to look into Madara’s eyes, frowning down at him. “When has that  _ ever _ been in question? Of course I am yours you dunderhead. What  _ is _ this?”

“That Trench female put her hands on you!” Madara’s neck gill slits flexed a little with his agitation and struggle.

There was a slow blink of red eyes as Tobirama absorbed that. The ‘Trench female’ in question was the very one he’d nearly ripped the arm off of for getting handsy, the one Hashirama had needed to smooth things over with. “Madara, I have been getting propositioned by others all season. I have rejected them all and with great prejudice. Why would the Trench ambassador set you off so badly?” 

As he spoke, Tobirama leaned down and rubbed his cheek along Madara’s jaw, released Madara’s hands to pet his own down the inside of Madara’s forearms, and settled his weight fully on his furious partner. He understood possessiveness, had plenty of it himself for Madara, and knew that contact would soothe the other. Proof that Tobirama was here with him and no one else.

Madara shuddered and went lax, embarrassment crawling up his spine to flush his face. He wasn’t embarrassed enough to push Tobirama away, however. Instead his hands found the broad, pale shoulders and held hard. “She’s a White. Like you and Hashirama.”

Tobirama’s brow furrowed in confusion. Great White mers weren’t the most plentiful, partially because of their size and partially because they all tended to mate with other mer types and those tended to be genetically dominant, but it shouldn’t make so much difference as to drive Madara to desperate possessiveness. “I do not understand.”

He felt Madara flex beneath him and then they were rolling over so he was lying underneath Madara on the sponge bed.

Madara’s hair floated around them like an inky curtain, his hands braced on either side of Tobirama’s head. “Look at us. You’re a White, I’m a Reef. My tail barely reaches halfway down yours. People talk, a lot, about you...settling. Mito is almost as long as Hashirama and female, she’s expected to be smaller. I-”

“Are you telling me that you think we are unsuited because of our  _ size difference _ ?” Tobirama asked incredulously and watched Madara’s face deepen in color.

“ _ I _ don’t think it. Others do. They’re vocal about it and about how much better another White or even a Tiger mer would be for-”

“Others are  _ idiots _ .” Tobirama snapped it out, furious to know that people had been discussing his relationship and judging it lacking based upon such a trivial thing as appearance. Discussing it loudly enough that it had reached his partners ears often enough to concern him. “I am  _ yours _ as you are  _ mine _ . The opinions of others mean nothing. I want no one else and the fools who attempt to approach me do nothing but  _ annoy _ me.”

“But they still approach you. Even knowing you’re in a clasp with me, they still make a move. They don’t see us as a...permanent pair.”

“They can go to the Vents with their stupidity.” Tobirama growled it. “I am yours and will remain yours as long as you wish it to be so.”

Madara’s eyes sharpened and his hands fisted in the sponge bed as he looked down at Tobirama. He spoke slowly, not hesitant but careful, “And if I want you to be mine always?”

Tobirama narrowed his eyes in speculation. “What, precisely, are you asking me, Madara?”

Madara shifted so that one hand could trace a thumb over the gill slits on Tobirama’s neck, eyes intent on his partner’s. “I want a mate bond with you.”

His lips parted, his eyes widening. “Oh. This is not a sudden decision based on the Trench ambassador’s actions?”

Madara huffed. “No, you irritating prick. I’ve...been thinking about it for a while now but I didn’t know how you’d feel about the subject.”

The insult, oddly enough, soothed away the remnants of his worry for Madara. “Because?”

“We haven’t exactly said anything about...” Madara flushed again.

Tobirama’s brows lifted as he made connections in his head. “About love?” If his partner turned any redder he would be the same shade as a frigate bird’s pouch. “Of course I love you, despite your appalling moments of idiocy based on the opinions of others who do not matter.”

Madara growled, this one softer than the earlier rage and anxiety fueled snarls. “You really are an absolute prick. I don’t know  _ why _ I love you but, Amphitrite preserve me, I do. Be my mate? Bond with me this full moon?”

Tobirama reached up and curled his hand around the back of Madara’s neck, pulling him down into a long, slow kiss to smooth out the edges remaining from the rough welcome home. He only broke the kiss when he felt the last of the tension in Madara’s body vanish and the other mer sank down onto him.

He nuzzled his cheek against Madara’s, a small smile curling the corners of his mouth. “Yes.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally this was supposed to be smut. Filthy, hot, writhing mersex fit to make your nose bleed. Then FEELS snuck in and I couldn't make it all sexy anymore.


	17. Day 17 Sunset (NaruSasu & KakaIru)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick vocab note: 
> 
> baby/child mers are called guppies for the fish phenotypes and pups for the mammalian phenotypes.
> 
> adolescent or teenage equivalent mers are referred to as fingerlings for all phenotypes though mammalian phenotypes are also still called pups until they reach full maturity.

Naruto was sneaking out again. Iruka  _ knew _ it. He knew his ward well enough to pick up on the adolescent’s tricks after years of raising him by now. He’d  _ thought _ they were past the sneaking out stage but clearly he was wrong about that. Naruto might be close to full maturity but he was still Iruka’s ward, his son for all intents and purposes, and it worried him that Naruto was risking sneaking out with all the change going on after the human world had slowly been made aware of mer society.

There were still humans who viewed them as little more than animals or, worse, commodities. Mer hunters that tried to capture any mer they could and sell them to the highest bidder. With mer societies becoming  _ known _ to the humans it gave those hunters locations to ‘fish’ in and Naruto sneaking out alone was dangerous until the Cove Warriors and the human authorities worked out proper patrolling schedules to deal with the threat.

At the same time, Iruka didn’t want to stifle Naruto’s independence. That would only hurt his little fingerling. So rather than confront him, or tell Kakashi about their ward sneaking around, Iruka decided to follow Naruto.

He was a little reassured to see that Naruto kept near the surface of the water, where trawler nets wouldn’t be towed, but less than pleased by his porpoising and jumping. What was he doing showing off like that?

Iruka followed his fingerling to the shallows near the opening to the Cove just as the sun was going down and hid himself behind a cluster of sharper rocks, peering out from behind them.

There was a mer laying on one of the flat lounging stones, Iruka couldn’t quite make out the features, but he didn’t really have to as Naruto launched himself out of the water at the other mer.

“Sasuke!”

“Moron what are you-!”

_ SPLASH _ .

Iruka’s lips twitched as Naruto tackled Sasuke off the rock into the water but he was confused despite the amusement. Why in the deeps would Naruto bother  _ sneaking _ out to see Sasuke? The two had been antagonistic friends since his guppy had bit Sasuke for making Hinata cry when they were all barely out of their first school.

Both fingerlings broke the surface, Naruto laughing and Sasuke cursing him.

“You fucking idiot, why did you do that?!”

“I missed you!” Naruto laughed, his arms draped around Sasuke’s shoulders. “You left class early today.”

“Hn. I had training with Chichue and Itachi. You didn’t have to  _ tackle _ me. I thought the point was to watch the sunset together?”

Naruto just rolled his eyes and hopped onto the rock, pulling Sasuke with him.

Iruka’s brows lifted when he saw that Sasuke, despite his grumping, had his arms around Naruto’s waist.

“Better, bastard?”

“Tolerable.”

“Keep that and I’ll dump you back in the drink and leave.”

The smirk was just visible from Iruka’s distance.

“No, you won’t.” Sasuke pulled Naruto in closer and rested his chin on the lionfish mer’s shoulder. “You ‘missed’ me remember.”

“I’m starting to wonder why.” Belying his words, Naruto’s hand lifted to start playing with Sasuke’s hair. “You’re really gonna try for the Warriors huh?”

“It’s what I’ve always wanted. You could join them. I  _ know _ Kakashi trains you.”

“Because I’m aiming for Pod Leader. Warrior...no. I don’t want to follow that current. It’s not me.” 

Iruka frowned. He hadn’t known Kakashi had been training Naruto. He would be having a  _ talk _ with his joint guardian later.

“So you’re always saying. Along with the speeches about ‘better ways to protect the Cove than just fighting’ and the pro human babble. You’re going to get hurt by the wrong human if you’re not  _ careful _ , Naruto.” The arms around Naruto’s waist tightened and pulled him closer against Sasuke.

“Hey, I’m careful! I don’t just swim up to random humans and flash my tail. I go with Baa-chan and Orochimama and meet the approved scientists and talk to the ones I’ve met before. Don’t be such a polychaete.”

“I will  _ bite _ you if you call me that again.”

Naruto flashed a grin. “Oh no, I’m sooo scared. Big bad reef shark’s gonna bite me.” He fluttered his lashes. “Promise?”

“You’re such a moron.” Sasuke growled it and yanked Naruto in to kiss the grin away.

Iruka’s eyes popped wide at the sight of the two young mers kissing on the rock with the sunset a gold and orange backdrop. “Oh.” Sudden understanding filled the whisper and Iruka’s heart twinged. His little guppy was in love.

“They come here to watch the sunset every evening.”

Iruka bit back the shout of surprise and spun to glare at the mer just behind him. “Don’t sneak up on me like that!” He hissed it out in a whisper, knowing from experience just how keen Naruto’s hearing was to say nothing of Sasuke’s. 

“Maa, Iruka-sensei. I didn’t sneak at all. You were just too focused on the fingerlings to notice me.”

Iruka felt the familiar irritation that dealing with Kakashi always gave him. Like sea urchins crawling across his tail from frustrated wishing. “How long have you known about this?” He gestured over his shoulder at the juvenile mers.

“Roughly a moon cycle.” Kakashi continued before Iruka could blow up at him. “It wasn’t my place to tell you. Naruto’s close to maturity and old enough to make his own choices and have them respected. You’ve taught him how to be responsible, taught him manners, and he certainly did not learn his diplomacy from me,” it was said with wry humor, “I’ve taught him, and will continue teaching him, to defend himself and those he’s responsible for, how to assess danger. We have both taught him the value of family. We’ve given him the tools he needs to build his own life and it’s nearly time for him to start using them.”

“Are you saying I should just stop caring and push him out of the den?” Iruka growled.

“No.” Kakashi’s jaw ticked under his mask, his visible eye narrowing. “And I never would. You’ve met my parents, they didn’t raise a wild shark, Iruka.”

Iruka froze, aware that he’d somehow hit a sore spot. “I didn’t mean-”

“I know what you meant. I also know you like to think I’m careless for reasons of your own but that isn’t the issue. Naruto isn’t a guppy anymore and he’s barely still a fingerling. He will  _ always _ be your son in the ways that matter, but you have to let him swim on his own and trust he’ll come to you when he needs to, talk to you when  _ he’s _ ready.”

“Little hypocritical.” Iruka muttered, blushing with shame because he could tell that somehow he’d  _ hurt _ Kakashi and that...that made him feel absolutely rotten. “If you followed him to find out like I did.”

“I didn’t.” Kakashi sighed, deflating and suddenly looking  _ tired _ as he almost never did. “This section of the Cove is part of my patrol route. I came across them and dove deep so I didn’t disturb them.”

Iruka winced. Well he’d stuffed a flipper in his mouth hadn’t he. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be biting at you, especially when I know you’re right.”

Kakashi made a half amused huff. “I’m a little used to it by now. You’ve been biting at me for years, ever since I met you.”

“Because you keep  _ flirting _ with me! You’re never serious.” Iruka tossed his hands in the air and was about to go off on a rant when he saw Kakashi staring at him incredulously. He paused. “What?”

Kakashi opened his mouth, the mask stretching a bit, shut it as if rethinking what he was about to say, then you could very nearly  _ see _ the mental shrug of ‘might as fucking well’ before he finally spoke, “ _ How _ can you be so smart but so  _ dense _ ? I  _ am _ serious. I have  _ always _ been serious every time I’ve flirted and  _ tried _ to court you since the moment I met you.”

“You-” Iruka gaped, speechless.

“The sponge you broke my nose with is a  _ traditional _ , formal presentation of intent in dolphin courtship, you adorable bonehead. It isn’t something any decent dolphin mer offers lightly or as a joke.”

Iruka made a mortified click-whistle at the memory of the sponge incident and then as he started putting together numerous other incidents. He sank lower into the water in embarrassment, wide eyes on Kakashi’s face, and no clue of what to say.

Kakashi ran his hand over his masked face with a rueful laugh. “Take your time, turn it over in your head, Iruka. Then come find me when you figure it out. I need to get back to my patrol.” He flipped under the surface with barely a ripple, leaving the stunned orca mer behind.

“Oh, cuttlefishes.” Iruka’s face was flaming and he felt like pond scum for his assumptions even though Kakashi hadn’t been...angry. That only made it worse because with the joint guardianship of Naruto, he’d learned a great deal about how the dolphin mer handled himself and his emotions and he knew that Kakashi got quiet when something was hurting him. And Iruka had just succeeded in hurting him fantastically with his behavior.

He could only be grateful that Kakashi had left and offered him time and space. He was going to need that time to work out a proper apology and explanation.

Years.  _ Years _ of him going on the defensive and telling himself Kakashi didn’t mean it to protect himself from getting hurt and it had never been necessary. He. Was. A. Moron.

Iruka made another unhappy click-whistle and dove down, the Naruto situation pushed aside now that he knew Naruto was safe, to go home and think.

Out further on the rock, Sasuke shook his head. “They really think we didn’t hear every word of that?”

Naruto shrugged, happily petting a hand down Sasuke’s tail and watching the way the sunset painted the matte denticles in vibrant colors. “I think they forgot we were so close halfway through the conversation.”

“Probably. I can sympathize with the distraction, trying to get up the gills to ask you out was nerve-wracking.” Sasuke brushed a kiss on Naruto’s shoulder. 

Naruto grinned. “And then I beat you to it.”

Sasuke huffed a laugh. “And then you beat me to it. You think your little matchmaking plot will work?”

Naruto nuzzled Sasuke’s temple. “Not sure they’ll get together,  _ finally _ , but Iruka-sensei will be  _ thinking _ and they’ll move out of the stupid stalemate they’ve had going for years. Any progress at this point is good-tebayo.” 

He rubbed a thumb over Sasuke’s dorsal fin. “You want to get out of here since Iruka-sensei finally followed me and all? I know you hate the rocks.”

Sasuke lifted his head and smiled at Naruto, pressing their foreheads together. “We can finish watching the sunset, moron. It’s a nice one and now that we’re not waiting for Iruka and Kakashi to run into each other we can enjoy it.”

Naruto wrapped his arms around Sasuke. “Let’s enjoy it from the water then, compromise.”

Sasuke made a pleased hum and brushed a quick kiss against Naruto’s mouth then pulled them both into the water, on Naruto’s shrieking laughter. He hoped Iruka and Kakashi sorted themselves out soon so Naruto didn’t have to worry about them so much anymore and would laugh like that more often.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't worry. I'm not leaving it there. Tomorrow's chapter will be a direct follow up to this one.


	18. Day 18 Fishing (Angsty Iruka and Wise Sakumo)

Iruka lay on the buoy, trailing a hand in the water, mostly ignoring the fish that came up to nip curiously at his claws. 

He kept replaying his conversation with Kakashi in his head over and over again, trying to figure out what to do or where to go from here. He kept getting caught on the fact that his assumptions had been stupid and unfair and  _ hurt _ the dolphin mer. That only led to a spiraling certainty that he didn’t deserve Kakashi’s regard and  _ that _ didn’t help offer any solutions.

A soft splash caught his ear and then the buoy wobbled, making him grip the side and turn his head to see what had just jumped up on the other side.

He cringed at the sight of Kakashi’s father. “Ah...Hatake-san.”

Sakumo lifted his brows and nodded to himself. “I thought I’d finally convinced you to call me Sakumo. Obviously things are more tangled than Naruto-kun told us.”

Iruka levered up a bit, frowning faintly in concern. “Naruto?”

“He came by earlier to vent over what he’s been calling ‘Iruka-sensei and Kakashi-sensei’s water clogging UST.’ I think he’s a bit frustrated.” Laughter lurked in Sakumo’s voice.

“Oh Amphitrite.” Iruka folded his arms on the buoy and buried his head in them. “Kill me now.”

“Well that would just upset my son and I try not to do that.” Sakumo darted a hand down into the water and caught a fish that came too close, easily pulling the intestines and stomach out so he could snack on it. “From what I hear, there’s been some misunderstanding between you and Kakashi.”

Iruka peeked out of his arms at Sakumo, vaguely wondering if the fish was a subtle threat, and muttered into his arms. “More like, I’m a presumptive idiot and don’t know how to fix it.”

“And what is ‘fixing it’ in your eyes?” Sakumo tossed a fishbone into the water.

“I don’t know. I just want to make it better. I...I hurt him and I hate that. I hate that I hurt him because I was being stupid and making assumptions.” Iruka curled his hands up over the back of his head.

“Hmm,” Sakumo considered the miserable orca mer. “Disregarding my son’s feelings for now,” he ignored the surprised squeak from Iruka, “what do you want?”

Silence stretched for several long moments before Iruka said, in a very small voice, “Do we have to disregard Kakashi’s feelings?”

“Well that tells me one thing you want. You want to consider his feelings. But yes. Yes, we have to put Kakashi’s feelings aside. If you make any decisions because you simply don’t want to hurt him it will hurt the  _ both _ of you in the end.” Sakumo peeled more meat from the fish and ate it. “How do you feel about my son? Outside of the guardianship or anything to do with Naruto.”

Iruka made an embarrassed whine. “I like him.”

“Like him?” Sakumo carefully kept his amusement out of his voice.

“I can  _ not _ discuss this with his father.” Iruka muttered.

“Would you prefer his mother?”

Iruka actually rolled off the buoy in brief panic, “No!” The splash washed up over Sakumo’s tail it was so large.

Sakumo had to laugh as Iruka rose to the surface, peeking his head out of the water only up to his eyes. “Afraid of my mate, Iruka?”

Iruka huffed, bubbles disturbing the water in front of his eyes, before he hauled himself back up onto the buoy. “It’s  _ wise _ to be wary of angering Orochimaru-sama but it’s more that it’s  _ embarrassing _ to talk about my feelings for Kakashi with his mother. And no, I don’t know why it’s more embarrassing than discussing it with you.”

“Mmm. So you do have feelings for him?” 

Iruka dragged his hand over his hair with a sigh. “Yes. For quite some time.”

“Is orca mer courtship so different then?”

“No. No, I recognized the moves I just-” Iruka leaned back against the metal struts of the buoy and sighed, looking up at the sky. “I had a bad experience with a dolphin mer when I was just a little older than Naruto is now. Bottlenose, gorgeous, charming, and, I thought, kind. I was very, very wrong.” He absently rubbed at the edge of the scar that ranged from the base of his bent dorsal fin up his spine and reached over one shoulder.

Sakumo felt his humor drop away as he looked at that scar. It was ragged, savage, and the wound that had created it would have been devastating. It was clear that whatever had attacked Iruka had tried to tear his dorsal fin off. 

“I know Kakashi isn’t...isn’t like  _ that _ . He doesn’t hurt people. But he’s such a  _ troll _ that I-” Iruka’s head clunked back on a strut. “It was easier, safer for my heart to tell myself that he was just joking. Essentially, I’m a foolish coward.”

Sakumo tossed the remains of the fish far out into the water, appetite gone. “Foolish perhaps but it isn’t cowardly to wish to avoid pain, Iruka. Knowing intellectually that someone will not hurt you is rarely enough to convince one’s heart to take a risk after being hurt so badly before.” He looked out at the water, remembering a conversation with his mate after their first fight, when he’d returned with food after hunting to relieve his temper. “Assault or abandonment, both hurt when it’s someone you trusted and it’s a risk to open up again.”

Iruka looked at Sakumo from the corner of his eyes but didn’t ask about the sad note in his voice. 

“I suppose the question is if you  _ want _ to take that risk with Kakashi?” Sakumo turned his head and met Iruka’s eyes, understanding in his own.

Iruka breathed in slowly. “I do. I don’t know if I  _ can _ but I know I want to.”

Sakumo nodded. “Then, if you want my advice?” He waited for Iruka’s nod. “Give Kakashi a simple apology for making assumptions and hurting him first off. Then tell him about your past experience, tell him you want to take the risk but don’t know if you’re healed enough for it yet. You’ll find that, much like his father,” he smiled faintly, “he won’t be dissuaded by skittishness or caution. The only thing that would make him stop is if you tell him you never want a romantic relationship with him.”

Iruka huffed. “Still terrifying.”

“Love always is.” Sakumo grinned. “I could tell you stories, young orca.”

Iruka had to smile. He definitely saw where Kakashi got his humor from. “Maybe another day. I need to go work out an apology in my head so I don’t make a muddle of it.”

Sakumo just laughed as Iruka slid into the water and took off. He’d probably still make a muddle of it but at least Kakashi wouldn’t be left in the limbo that had turned him snappish and moody.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The fishing here is metaphorical but Sakumo also caught a fish so that counts too I guess.


	19. Day 19 Storm (Naruto-centric)

Naruto settled comfortably at the opening of the den, safe from the wild currents and churning water that was whipping the Cove from the storm moving through, but where he could watch the way the surface rippled and twisted. It fascinated him and called to a part of him that had never known the land of his forebears. 

He smiled and leaned his cheek on the carefully coated coral of the entrance and listened to the sound of Kakashi and Iruka bickering about dinner. He was grateful they weren’t still avoiding each other and seemed to be finding their way. He wasn’t planning on moving out just yet but he would eventually, probably once Sasuke fully joined the Warriors and they both had time to carve out or find their own den.

He knew that was what he wanted in his own life. To make a den, a home, with Sasuke. Maybe guppies far  _ far _ into the future. Preferably after he’d tail whipped his way through the doubters and taken Tsunade’s place as Pod Leader of the Cove. 

That was another thing he wanted. To be the one to help settle the Cove into the new era Hiruzen had begun and Tsunade had completed. The Cove was still nervous about having humans know about them, having humans come around to study the reef, and the little mer and human romances that were popping up.

He could be a good Pod Leader, he knew it. Just like he knew he was going to have a long road there. That was okay. He was young, he had time to earn trust and prove himself.

A wild eyed flounder was swept past the den entrance and made him laugh at the way it tried to swim for the bottom and bury itself back in the sand. He leaned out a bit, holding onto the coral tightly, and snatched the flounder out of the current, and brought it just into the entrance, setting it on the sand so it could bury itself there. 

Kakashi and he had an unspoken agreement that anything Naruto ‘saved’ could stay unharrassed in the entrance so long as Iruka didn’t find it. That had come around the day he’d caught Kakashi trying to sneak in hiding an injury at the same time Naruto had snuck in an injured sea turtle. They'd both known Iruka would have put his fluke down and neither had been willing to risk annoying the orca mer so they'd kept each other's secret and it had grown into a pattern over the years.

He watched the flounder wiggle into the sand with a grin at the memory but then his head whipped up when he heard something. He focused on listening past the churning water and pounding rain on the surface and heard it again. Screaming.

“Help! Help us!”

Naruto was moving before he thought about it, unable to ignore any call for help much less  _ this _ one. He  _ knew _ that voice.

He swam out into the dragging, violent current, using a clawed grip on coral to keep him from being swept away, toward the screaming. He grimaced when a strong surge banged him against the coral, scraping his skin and soft scales, but kept going. 

He spotted them being pulled to the drop off, the three guppies that had taken to following him around. Konohamaru was clinging as hard as he could to Udon and Moegi with four of his tentacles, the seahorse and flame fairy wrasse mers clutching at him. The rest of his tentacles were wrapped around a fan coral, his little claws trying to dig into the sand for purchase to get them out of the violent current.

Naruto heard a faint crack and knew the fan coral was breaking. He launched himself at the three guppies and caught them up in his arms.

“Naruto-nii-chan!” Konohamaru cried out and turned the coral loose, wrapping around Naruto instead.

“Hang on you three!” Naruto swam hard back the way he came, fighting against the current until he could get a grip on a solid coral bed with one hand, his other arm still cradling the guppies close. “I’ve got you. It’s gonna be okay-tebayo.”

He grit his teeth and hauled himself back through the reef one tail beat and clawhold at a time as the guppies whimpered and clung. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the stand of coral over his home den and mimicked the distress call Iruka had taught him as loudly as he could.

“Naruto! What in Neptune’s balls?!” Iruka yelped and swam to meet them, his tail better suited to navigating the storm waters, catching all of them close.

“You cursed, Iruka-sensei.” Naruto offered a tired smile and allowed Iruka to tow him and the guppies back to the den, where Kakashi was already waiting to yank them all back in.

“Oh I’ll curse more later, believe you me.” It wasn’t as much of a threat as he wanted it to be with the way he was already clucking over Naruto and the guppies. “What  _ happened _ ?”

“I heard them screaming.” Naruto settled onto the sand, curling up around the guppies and gently petting their hair and backs to soothe them. “And I just reacted. They were being swept out to the drop off.” He heard Iruka’s squeal of upset but knew it wasn’t directed at him.

Kakashi lowered himself next to Naruto and sank a hand into the sunny blond hair. “You did good.”

Iruka shuddered, thinking of what could have gone wrong if Naruto  _ hadn’t _ heard the guppies. He sank down on Naruto’s other side, wrapping his arm around his ward’s shoulders. “Yes, you did very well. But maybe next time get back up, hmm?” 

“Heh, I’ll work on it.” Naruto leaned into his foster parents.

“You’re going to be sore as the Vents tomorrow.” Kakashi chuckled. “If the storm passes before then I’ll get something to help with that from Mama.”

“Mmm.” Naruto tapped his fingers gently along Konohamaru’s spine, feeling the guppy’s grip loosen a bit. “Hey you.”

“Nii-chan.” Konohamaru burrowed his face into Naruto’s chest. “That was so scary.”

“I bet. How’d you guys wind up out in the storm?” Naruto carefully readjusted Udon and Moegi so all three guppies were comfortable without making them feel like he was letting go.

“It’s my fault. I thought it was over and wanted to play.” Konohamaru hunched in on himself. “The water wasn’t churning so bad anymore! I really thought it was over!”

Moegi fluttered her vibrant fins and scooted closer to hug him. “We all did. It looked like it was over.”

Iruka hummed. “Center of the storm. Things go still. It’s understandable you made that mistake.”

“We shouldn’t have snuck out.” Udon hung his head, his tail curling tightly around Naruto’s arm. 

“No, you shouldn’t have but,” Iruka smiled ruefully, “you are hardly the first guppies to test boundaries and you’ve learned a lesson now haven’t you?”

All three guppies nodded fervently and Naruto grinned and cuddled them closer. 

Kakashi ruffled Naruto’s hair again then got up. “I think our four adventurers could probably use something to eat don’t you, Iruka?”

Iruka sighed. “You’re just using this as an excuse to prepare the grouper instead of the tuna.”

“Would I do that?” Kakashi headed for the pantry.

Naruto curled in and whispered to the guppies, “He absolutely would do that-tebayo.”

It got the three little ones to giggle and allowed him to relax, knowing they really were okay.

Iruka smiled, pride in Naruto welling in his chest. “Come on guppies,” he gave Naruto a little squeeze, “and grown guppy. Let’s get a look at all of you and make sure you’re not too badly hurt while Kakashi gets dinner ready.”

Naruto winced as he pushed off the floor. Oh he was already sore, tomorrow was going to be awful. Still, looking down at the guppies in his arms as he followed Iruka to their central space for first aid, he couldn’t regret it. He’d saved the guppies and made it back. Some scrapes and sore muscles were worth it.


	20. Day 20 Injury (SakuOro)

**“Lovely, I’m home!”** Sakumo swam into their cavern looking forward to snuggling down with his mate after his long patrol. 

He checked Orochimaru’s lab first, as that was normally where his mate could be found, but didn’t see him anywhere. He went next to the nest chamber, wondering if his mate had decided to take a nap, but the sea snake mer wasn’t there either. He checked the pantry, the garden, and even the large grotto with no sign of his mate.

Frowning in confusion, Sakumo peeked into the chamber his mate kept the human made medical supplies in. It was possible some strange mer had gained enough courage to seek Orochimaru’s assistance with a wound. 

He surfaced and started to smile when he spotted his mate over by the vinyl cushions but the smile vanished the second he saw blood slipping down the side of the beautiful tail. “Lovely! You’re hurt!” He swam over quickly, making a distressed click in his throat at the sight of the nasty, ragged bite wound where the smooth skin of Orochimaru’s torso graduated into scales.

“Sakumo,” it was a soft sigh, partially relief and partially affection. “I could use your help with this dear-heart.”

Sakumo reached out then snapped his hand back, knowing very well how his mate felt about keeping a work field sterile. “What happened?”

“Bull shark. I’m afraid I was rather distracted gathering some specimens near the drop off.” Orochimaru watched Sakumo clean his hands. 

“That isn’t like you.” Sakumo’s throat felt thick at the sight of his mate bleeding. “What about the guards posted at the drop off. They’re meant to warn of approaching predators.”

“You and I both know they would like very much to see me become shark food.” Orochimaru smiled at the growl that came from his mate. “It doesn’t matter, dear-heart.”

“Oh it  _ matters _ and I will be  _ discussing _ this with Hiruzen. Or perhaps with the sailfish mer he’s taken as his apprentice. Minato has a talent for getting Hiruzen to see sense.” Sakumo took the hypodermic needle his mate handed him and, as gently as possible, injected the anesthetic where Orochimaru instructed.

“I doubt even his apprentice’s powers of persuasion will do much but I know you won’t be dissuaded.” Orochimaru contained his flinch until the local anesthetic took effect.

Sakumo crooned, loathing to cause his mate anymore pain. “If things don’t change I swear by Amphitrite’s raiment I will take matters into my own hands.” He set about cleaning the wound as gently as he could, wincing as he cut away pieces of skin and flesh his mate told him would die anyway and hinder healing. “You deserve the same respect and protection the rest of the Cove receives.”

“Mmm.” Orochimaru didn’t argue. His mate wasn’t precisely  _ wrong _ but he’d long ago come to accept that what he  _ deserved _ was not what he would get. Instead he just directed Sakumo through stitching up the wound where necessary and covering the rest with salve before bandaging the entire area to prevent water from carrying bacteria into the wound. 

“I mean it, Lovely.” Sakumo finished bandaging Orochimaru’s wound then turned to clean his hands of his mate’s blood and the salve. His skin  _ crawled _ at the sight of the blood. “Simple disrespect is bad enough but this...you could have been  _ killed _ .” He shuddered.

Orochimaru wrapped the end of his tail around Sakumo’s waist and pulled him back over to him. He cupped his mate’s face. “I’m still here, dear-heart.” He smirked a little. “And we have bull shark for dinner.”

Sakumo pressed his brow to Orochimaru’s, taking him in his arms, careful to avoid the wounded side. “I love you. You should have been able to trust in the safety of the guards at the drop off so allow me my anger that you couldn’t.” 

“By all means, dear-heart. I love you as well, however, and would prefer you not paint a target on your back.” 

“Anyone takes aim at me and they’ll learn  _ why _ I’m so high ranked among the Warriors.” It was a dangerous promise.

“Stubborn dolphin.” It was fond.

“ _ Your _ stubborn dolphin.” Sakumo nuzzled his mate’s cheek. “I’ll gather sleeping materials to bring to the large grotto. Better to avoid staying too long in the water until you’re healed, Lovely.”

“I suppose it is.” Orochimaru sighed and looked up at the dry tunnel he’d chipped out of the rock to allow him to traverse between chambers of the cavern out of the water. He’d never  _ needed _ to use them before. 

He looked back at his mate and smoothed his fingers against the furrow of his brow. “Don’t dwell on this Sakumo. If you feel you must confront Hiruzen-sensei and the drop-off guards then do so but don’t dwell on this. It will eat away at you if you do.”

He sighed and brushed a kiss to Orochimaru’s lips. “As you wish, Lovely. Let me look after you though?”

Orochimaru smiled. “I think I can be convinced to allow you to pamper me a bit.” He brought Sakumo in for another, deeper kiss.

He wasn’t pleased to have been injured but Sakumo’s anger on his behalf warmed him all the way through and who knew, perhaps Sakumo might actually succeed in his new personal mission. Not likely but anything was possible.


	21. Day 21 Trapped (MadaTobi)

He was almost out, almost made it just far enough away, very nearly had managed to sneak away and freedom was within his reach when a pair of arms pulled him back down and a heavy body had him pinned.

“Ungh! Let go you octopus masquerading as a shark!” He thrashed and wriggled, no longer trying to be considerate of the other occupant of the nest.

“Mmm no. ‘S too early.” The irritable grumble was muffled by the face smooshed against Madara’s chest. 

“I have  _ patrol _ , I have to thrash your brother into doing his work, I have-”

“The day off. Shush.” 

“What do you  _ mean _ I have the day off?!” Madara stopped trying to push Tobirama off him and instead looked down at the white head hiding in his chest. He supposed it was somewhat endearing how Tobirama took every opportunity to curl up against him but when it made him consistently late because his mate was a clingy octopus in the morning it could get a little annoying too.

“Told Hashi, ‘zuna has your patrol. Day off.  _ Go back to sleep _ .” Tobirama’s voice was getting cranky and he was starting to tense.

“And you didn’t think to tell me this last night?” Despite his grumbling, Madara threaded his fingers through Tobirama’s hair, petting his mate back to drowsy indolence.

“Hashi was s’posed to.” Tobirama’s arms tightened around Madara’s waist. “Brainless flounder.”

Madara’s lips twitched, knowing that insult was for Hashirama and not him. “Is this some special occassion?”

“Mmm-nnn.” Tobirama curled tighter around Madara.

“A just because?” 

“Wanted more time with you.” 

Now his lips fully curved and Madara settled back into the soft, spongy bed. “I suppose you have it then.” He curled one arm around Tobirama’s shoulders, allowing his other hand to keep stroking through the pretty white hair. “Though I expect a little more activity when you finally decide to wake up.”

“Mm, fuck later, sleep  _ now _ .”

Madara just chuckled softly. He’d never fall asleep again but he didn’t mind being trapped under his mate while Tobirama slept. It was a testament to how far they’d come and he enjoyed laying in the dark, wrapped up warm with his drowsy mate.


	22. Day 22 Siren (Merfolk Origin)

Too many signs had accumulated, too many indications of great calamity were piling upon them. This last sign made it clear there was nothing else to be done. It was time to take action to save them all.

The light of the great moon overhead was being swallowed by darkness before eyes the same color of that shining orb. The moon was disappearing and time to find other solutions was up. 

The wind coming from off the sea whipped the silvery white hair of the village’s priestess wildly as she led her people to the edge of the water. In her arms she held her infant sons, her most precious of gifts. 

She turned to face her people, the fading light of the moon seeming to shine down upon her like a benediction. “Our fields are barren, the rains have fled, fire and ash came from the sky to destroy the forest, and the very earth shook only two turns of the moon back. Yet vermin thrive scampering about the remains of what we have built, feasting on the charred carcasses of our livestock and scorched scraps of our last harvest. All our prayers and sacrifices have been in vain, the gods of the land have turned their backs on us.”

The water behind her thrashed, the waves cresting higher.

“But the sea has been kind to us. Its waters washed away the fire and ash, her bounty has kept us fed, the gods of the sea have given us succor and so it is to the sea we shall turn. In her arms we shall be cradled safe from the cruelties of the land.”

“What of the beasts of the sea, Lady Kaguya?!” One of the villagers cried, clinging to their own family in fright. “Will they not devour us if we dare step into the waters?”

“We shall swim among them. Do not fear, we shall build a new life under the waves. Our legs will be the price we pay, behold.” Kaguya stepped backward into the water until it lapped around her hips and she could dip her son’s feet in the ocean. She hummed softly, winding magic around her children so that it transformed them. Legs fused together and became fins. Her eldest, Hagoromo, gaining a tail of a shark, her second born, Hamura, sprouting the wide wings of a great ray, gills to allow them to breathe in their new home opened in their necks and along their rib cages. 

Hagoromo wailed and thrashed, waving his little arms, proving that he still had lungs for air and was perfectly healthy. Hamura’s ray fins flapped in response.

“You see. We will blend with the creatures of the sea and she and her gods will care for us. I know it is frightening to change, to join a different world, to make the way for others, but if we remain on the hostile land we will surely perish. Come with me, have I not always acted in your best interest? Have I not always guarded you with my magic? Have I not earned your faith?”

The villagers milled around, murmurs of amazement at the sight of the Lady’s sons rising in the wind. A few brave souls stepped forward, joining Kaguya in the water.

“You have my Lady. Always. If you say this is the way, we will follow.”

Crimson lips curved in gratitude and she looked out over those who remained on shore. “We must do this and in time, as we traverse the waters, we will find others to save with us. We will not die out but we must change before the moon is gone from sight. Come,” handing Hamura to one of her people that stood beside her now, Kaguya stretched out a hand in entreaty to those who hesitated, “my people, my beloveds. To leave you behind would break my heart.” 

Power shone in her eyes, rang in her voice, and drew those onshore to her, overcame their fear and brought them into the sea.

Kaguya’s smile was triumphant and she lifted her face to the dying moon and raised her voice in a song of magic, changing her people and herself as she had changed her sons. No two forms were the same but there were so  _ many _ creatures in the sea compared to her village, no her  _ pod _ now, that the magic chose the best fit for each and ensured they would all be compatible to mate no matter the differences.

As their pod traveled they would find more humans cast aside by the cruel gods of the land and bring them into their safe arms, change them into people of the sea. Their population would grow and thrive, Kaguya would see to it.


	23. Day 23 Flower (InoSaku)

Ino swam up to greet Sakura eagerly. Laughing when her lovely human just leaped into the water before Ino was even halfway up from the bottom. She caught Sakura and brought her in for a soft kiss as they floated lazily the rest of the way to the surface.

“Done with your work for the day?” Ino flicked her tail, lazily keeping them afloat, arms curled around Sakura’s waist. 

Sakura beamed and kissed Ino’s cheek. “I am. The Institute is almost done with the project but they’ve been talking about stationing a permanent liaison here to keep monitoring the reef and co-ordinating with the mer teams. My name is on the short list.”

Ino’s eyes lit up. “So you would live out here?” 

Sakura nodded. “The exact location hasn’t been decided on yet. Your Pod Leader and the Institute’s Director have to find a place to set up builder buoys. They don’t want the anchored buoys to disrupt the reef ecosystem too much. But yes, if I’m chosen I would live out here.” She tucked some of Ino’s hair behind a delicately pointed ear.

“ _ If _ ? Who else could be chosen? You’re the best!” 

Sakura laughed a little shyly, blushing. “Well, I’m not the most senior of the Institute’s staff. Konan’s got more experience and credentials.”

“Pfft! And no mer connections I bet. You’ve got me and Naruto and all our friends.” Ino towed them to the swim platform so Sakura could sit on it and Ino could fold her arms in her human’s lap. “And Lady Tsunade likes you. You made a hell of an impression helping hunt those pirates that took me down.”

Sakura’s eyes seemed to flash, a quick bite of remembered anger, but her hand was gentle as she pet Ino’s wet hair. “I take care of those I love. I love you.”

Ino made a soft trill and nuzzled Sakura’s hand. “I love you too. If you don’t get the position I’ll pitch a fit.”

Sakura laughed. “If I don’t get it I’ll figure something out so I still see you every day.” She brought one of Ino’s hands to her lips and kissed the inside of the delicate wrist. “I brought you something.”

Ino blinked and tilted her head. “You did? What? Show me!” She hopped up onto the swim platform, tail swishing in the water excitedly.

Sakura just smiled at her and reached into the back of the boat where she had a small box.

Ino watched Sakura pull out a gleaming gold circle with shiny pink and white stones and her lips parted.

“It’s an armband. The metal is sculpted to look like a tree branch and the flowers...well they’re cherry blossoms, my namesake. I thought...well...” Sakura blushed, holding the armband out to Ino. 

Ino reached out, fingertips brushing over the delicately formed flower petals sparkling with tiny gemstones at the overlapping ends of the band. She looked up at Sakura. “Do...do you understand what this is to a mer, Sakura?”

A soft smile curved Sakura’s lips. “It’s a courting gift. I annoyed Naruto about how to...well...I love you and I want you with me, always. I don’t know how we’ll work it out since I can’t stay in the water for long periods and you can’t stay out of it for long but...I want to figure it out.”

“Oh. Oh Sakura!” Ino hooked a hand around the back of Sakura’s neck and pulled her in for a soft, sweet kiss. “Yes. Yes. Absolutely. We’ll figure it out.” Ino rested her forehead against Sakura’s. “I’m yours and you’re mine. Put that beautiful thing on me.”

Sakura’s smile was brilliant as she gently slid the armband onto Ino’s arm until it rested snugly around her bicep. “Pretty ornaments for a pretty mer.”

Ino looked down at her arm, her smile matching Sakura’s. She’d set out to catch and keep her human ages ago and now she was the one caught in turn. She hauled herself into Sakura’s lap and nuzzled her neck. “My Sakura, my flower. I’m going to annoy the hell out of Lady Tsunade to have your base built over my den. This Konan person can go to the Vents because you’re getting that position.”

Sakura laughed and wrapped her arms around Ino, resting her cheek against the wet hair. “I believe you might just manage to make that happen regardless of what the Director wants.”

“Bet your pretty legs.” Ino nodded decisively and pulled Sakura into the water with her to kiss and play for a while.

  
  



	24. Day 24 Deep Sea (Meeting Gaara)

Naruto knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that if Iruka caught him, he’d be in more trouble than he’d ever encountered in his life. Admittedly he hadn’t lived very long yet but he’d experienced quite a bit of trouble for a guppy on the edge of becoming a fingerling. On top of the endless fathoms of trouble he’d be in, Iruka would be  _ upset _ and Naruto  _ hated _ to upset Iruka. Sasuke would be upset too and that was even  _ worse _ .

Sasuke was his only friend and if he made Sasuke angry enough to  _ stop _ being his friend, it was literally the  _ worst _ thing that could ever happen in his opinion. But his little cache of treasures that he kept on the edge of the drop off kept getting riffled through and he had to find out who was  _ doing _ it.

He’d staked out the little cavern with Orochi-mama for an entire  _ day _ a few days ago and  _ nothing _ appeared. When he’d dragged a very cranky Kakashi with him at the crack of dawn the very next day to check his treasures had been disturbed  _ again _ . 

_ Something _ was messing with his treasures and they were obviously doing it at night. That meant he had to sneak out at night and find out who or what was poking their snout into his things. And he wasn’t going to be  _ stupid _ about it. 

He was keeping tight to the coral and shadows, careful not to disturb the water very much. He had a small bone knife he’d...liberated from the big cache the Warriors kept of the weapons confiscated from criminals. He knew how to use it thanks to Kakashi’s secret lessons so he had something for extra protection. On top of that, he might be a guppy but his spines were just as sharp, hard, and venomous as any adult lionfish mer so he had a built in defense. 

He didn’t plan to confront the one raiding his cache. He only wanted to find out  _ who _ was doing it and if he needed to move his treasures or find a way to seal them up. It depended on how clever the raider was.

He switched from swimming to using his hands to crawl along the sandy bottom as he neared the drop off and settled into the perfect place to watch his cache. He half buried himself with a thin layer of sand and held still, waiting.

It was quiet and still, almost nothing moving where he could see it though he could sense movement out further in the deep water and knew things were hunting in the abyssal zone. He could even hear faint clicks and squeals of sperm whales. fortunately very far away. They weren’t mers, there was a subtle difference between the echolanguage of sperm whale mers and wild sperm whales that he’d noticed listening to Choji talk to Shikamaru in class. 

He tried to see if he could catch the meaning behind the sounds, all echolanguage was similar enough that if you knew one or two and tried really hard you could pick up the meaning of an unknown dialect, but his attention was caught when a flash of red and white appeared over the edge of the drop off.

His eyes widened when he saw it was a squid mer, one around  _ his _ age. He watched the squid mer approach his cache cautiously and start rifling through it. He listened closely, straining his ears and soon he heard soft, almost desperate muttering.

“Maybe this time. Maybe. There was food a cycle ago, maybe something this time.”

Naruto felt his throat go tight and he looked closer at the squid mer, skinny, very skinny to the point that there was no guppy fat. Naruto had never starved. Even when he’d been with the old frogfish idiot, though before Iruka and Kakashi had adopted him he’d sometimes only had a single meal a day but genuine starvation like what this other guppy was clearly suffering from? No, he’d never experienced that.

He wanted to help the other guppy but he didn’t want to scare them off. Maybe he could start caching leftovers from lunch before going home? Or sneaking food from the kitchen? Or-

He tensed when he realized that the sound of the sperm whales was getting closer.  _ Too _ close. Their echolocation was starting to hurt a little but the squid mer was too focused on finding food to notice. He started to call out, started to catch the other guppy’s attention when he remembered.

_ 'Sperm whales  _ eat _ squid.'  _ The memory of that lesson in class after someone had made fun of Choji for his favorite lunch made Naruto feel  _ cold _ .

He darted from his hiding spot quickly and grabbed the hand of the squid mer. “Hurry!” He felt the jump of the other guppy and the pull of them trying to get away but Naruto was well fed and stronger. Not to mention the squid mer was just so  _ light _ and small that it was easy to tow them along.

“What are you-”

“Whales!” Naruto glanced back over his shoulder at the other guppy. “Wild sperm whales. I think they noticed you. We have to get back into the Cove’s reef wall!”

The squid mer’s eyes, a minty aqua, widened as they registered the echolocation and then they started swimming at a pace with Naruto.

Naruto swam as fast as he could, hand still holding onto the other guppy’s tightly, startling some sleeping fish and a few wild reef sharks as they buzzed past them. He saw the reef wall and darted into one of the twisting passageways that formed from the configuration of the carefully cultivated coral. He slowed down when he heard the clicking of the whales slow then start moving off into the distance again.

He stopped in a little hollow that would probably become someone’s den one day, his neck gills flexing as he caught his breath, and turned to look at the squid mer. “That was  _ close _ !”

The squid mer yanked their hand away and tucked their arms around their skinny upper, staring at the lionfish mer suspiciously. “Why?”

“Huh? Why what?” 

“Why did you help me?”

“Because...it was...the right thing to do?” Naruto tilted his head in confusion. “You were so distracted you’d have gotten  _ pulverized _ then  _ eaten _ .”

“Why would you  _ care _ ? You don’t even know me.” Red tentacles lashed in agitation.

Naruto shrugged, fins fluttering. “I just do. I care about people. Hey, are you from the Trench?”

“Not really.” The squid mer muttered, shrinking in on themselves. “I was born there but I don’t live there anymore.”

The posture was one Naruto recognized, one he’d taken more than once himself, and he knew better than to ask why the other guppy no longer lived in their birthplace. Instead he reached out, offering his hand palm up. “I’m Naruto. You’ve been poking around my cache. I don’t usually put food there, sorry.” He smiled sheepishly.

Aqua eyes flicked down to the offered hand then back up to meet blue. There was a brilliant sincerity and kindness in the lionfish guppy’s face that shone as bright as sunlight. Hesitantly the squid guppy reached back and took Naruto’s hand. “Gaara.”

“Nice to meet you! You wanna come with me? We can sneak something from the kitchen and you can get some rest. In the morning we can see if Kakashi-sensei knows somewhere in the Cove you can live.”

“I-in the Cove?”

“Yeah. It’s way dangerous living outside the Cove if you’re a soft, squishy guppy like us. There’s other squid mers in the Cove so you won’t be the odd mer out.” He looked wryly down at himself. “I kinda am but even I’ve got a friend and family. A-and if...if you want we can be friends?” He offered shyly. “I know I’m a little weird tho so it’s okay if you don’t want to.”

Gaara stared in disbelief at the bright, ball of sunshine that had dragged them away from becoming a sperm whale’s dinner. That Naruto sincerely wanted to be their friend, to be the friend of some stray, homeless, half-starved guppy was difficult enough to fathom. That he seemed to think  _ he _ was the odd one was beyond understanding.

And Gaara... _ wanted _ . They wanted to be the friend of this lionfish mer, to believe in the hope Naruto offered that they could have a home within the Cove. So they offered a tiny, tiny smile and squeezed Naruto’s hand. “I would like that, Naruto.”

The smile they were gifted with was the brightest thing Gaara had ever seen and they had every intention of seeing it again, no matter what they had to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gaara is a [Giant Squid Mer](https://www.nationalgeographic.com/content/dam/animals/thumbs/rights-exempt/invertebrates/g/giant-squid_thumb.ngsversion.1496698216432.adapt.1900.1.jpg).
> 
> Ugh. This one kicked my butt, I don't know WHY Deep Sea decided to be a difficult prompt for me but it did. 
> 
> Sasuke's gonna be _so_ jealous when Naruto introduces Gaara. So. Very. Cranky.


	25. Day 25 Beach (SakuOro)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Trigger Warning for Induced Temporary Infertility, Implantation Failure, and Past Poisoning**

Sakumo swam back and forth in the surf, eyes locked on his mate as Orochimaru scooped sand out of the way and reached into a nest to take a few turtle eggs out, tucking them into the basket he had with him before recovering the rest of them and moving onto another nest.

He didn’t know why his mate had decided, all of a sudden, that he absolutely  _ had _ to gather sea turtle eggs for dinner. It wasn’t as though the nests were  _ going _ anywhere and it was broad daylight. Any passing human, including the mer-hunting pirates that kept cropping up even after the crew that had abducted Naruto’s gramma friend had been turned into flotsam and chum, could spot Orochimaru on the beach and decide they wanted a pretty snake mer and Sakumo would be unable to assist his mate.

He knew Orochimaru was strong enough to defend himself, knew that his mate didn’t  _ need _ him to protect him, but that didn’t make knowing that he  _ couldn’t _ be there to back his mate up if he wanted to any easier. So he swam back and forth, back and forth, back and forth until he felt as though he was going to lose his mind.

Orochimaru’s careful excavation of several nests so as not to take too much from one, took a great deal of time. Time Sakumo would much  _ rather _ was taken under the cover of the night. Why now? Why had it needed to be  _ now _ ? His mate had insisted, without any warning whatsoever, that they go to the turtle beach so he could harvest eggs immediately. 

While Sakumo was accustomed to Orochimaru doing things he didn’t fully understand it was rarely done on  _ impulse _ . It unsettled him a great deal. Especially after the odd mood that had taken his mate over for nearly the entire moon cycle. Orochimaru had actually snapped at Naruto, at  _ Naruto _ , when he’d shouted in the cavern four days ago. He’d apologized immediately, of course, and wrapped Naruto up in a full body hug but it was so out of character.

Naruto had been back checking on Orochimaru every day since, as highly aware that it wasn’t like his ‘Orochi-mama’ as Sakumo was. Orochimaru insisted he was well, that nothing was wrong, but neither of them believed it. Naruto had vowed that if it kept up he’d bring Kakashi into it, even though he would be interrupting Kakashi and Iruka’s honeymoon.

Sakumo was certain that this little beach trip might very well be what had Naruto following through with his vow. If not it might be what made  _ him _ snap and interrupt his son’s bonding time with his new mate.

Finally, just when he was on the verge of beaching himself and dragging over to his mate, Orochimaru turned, stilled for a moment, then slithered back down the beach to the water. As soon as Orochimaru was deep enough in the water that Sakumo wouldn’t get stuck, he darted to his mate’s side. He swallowed his anxious nonsense and nuzzled the sharp, pale jaw above the water. “Did you gather the number you wanted, Lovely?”

“For now.” Orochimaru’s tail wrapped around Sakumo’s body and he cupped his mate’s cheek. “I worried you.”

Sakumo shook his head. “It’s nothing. I...dislike being unable to offer my assistance should you need it.”

Orochimaru sighed and looped his arms around Sakumo’s shoulders. “No. It’s not nothing. I worried you, dear heart. I have  _ been _ worrying you, have I not?”

Sakumo pressed a kiss to his mate’s temple. “You have been acting oddly, Lovely. It’s concerning.” He moved them into deeper water where, should anyone approach, they could easily dive and avoid danger.

“You’ve been very patient with me.” Orochimaru raked his claws gently through Sakumo’s hair. “Forgive me for worrying you, Sakumo.”

“Of course.” He looped his arms around his mate’s waist. “Are you ready to tell me why you’ve been so out of sorts? Or do you need to stew on it more?”

Orochimaru laughed softly, brushing a kiss over the crest of Sakumo’s cheek. “You do know me well.” He pulled back just enough that he could look into the stormy gray of his mate’s eyes. “I was stewing but I was also...anxious. For good reason.” 

He smiled, soft and faintly wry. “Do you remember when I was so obsessed with sardines for every meal and snack?”

Sakumo frowned. “Yes, of course. That was when you were carr-” the sand dollar dropped and his eyes went wide, the breath leaving him as he stared at his mate. He sucked in air, just enough to breathe out, “Lovely, are you-”

“ _ We _ are expecting a new guppy. I am quite pregnant.” Orochimaru brought one of Sakumo’s hands to his lips and kissed the center of his palm. “I believe Kakashi will be quite amused don’t you, dear heart?”

A breathless huff of laughter escaped Sakumo and he leaned in, tangling his fingers with Orochimaru’s, and pressed his forehead to his mate’s. “I imagine he will be. You’re well?”

“Very well. I was  _ stewing _ so I wouldn’t rush telling you. In case.” The corners of Orochimaru’s lips tightened and he wound closer around Sakumo, seeking and offering comfort. In the years following Kakashi’s birth they’d tried for another guppy and the two times they  _ had _ conceived the fertilized egg hadn’t successfully implanted into the uterine wall. Eventually they’d stopped trying. “But I checked with Tsunade and she confirmed a successful, if unexpected, and stable pregnancy.”

Sakumo rubbed his free hand up and down his mate’s back. “Wonderfully unexpected. When did-” He felt Orochimaru’s wince. “Lovely?”

“I went to see her the day I snapped at Naruto. I was...irritable over things Tsunade told me.” Orochimaru’s jaw flexed, his eyes flashing in anger. “She analyzed some of my hair and scales because I should not have had such difficulty those years. She found toxins that affect ovum production and the uterine lining in the sections of hair that grew during the time between Kakashi’s weaning and Tsunade’s third year as Pod Leader.” 

Sakumo sucked in a sharp breath. “Someone was  _ poisoning _ you?!”

“Possibly the both of us. I’d like you to see Tsunade to make certain.” 

“Of course. Is she certain it’s no longer in your system?” Sakumo wrapped his arms tightly around his mate, protective. 

“Yes. There’s none left in my tissues at all. She believes my system has been recovering these last three years.” Orochimaru angled his head to brush a soft kiss over Sakumo’s lips. “When we  _ celebrated _ last full moon my body was very much recovered and so we have a darling surprise on the way.”

Sakumo caught Orochimaru’s mouth for a longer, deeper kiss. “You are a marvel, Lovely. Do you want to wait to tell anyone else?”

“No.” Orochimaru smiled, bumping his nose against Sakumo’s chin. “No, I’d like to tell Naruto, then Kakashi and Iruka when they come out of the bonding den.”

Allowing them to sink under the surface, and quite content to have his mate wrapped around him, Sakumo began swimming for home.  **“Will you tell them of the poisoning as well?”**

“I don’t yet know. I will need to  _ stew _ on it a bit more.” Orochimaru teased softly.

Sakumo was able smile and allowed his mate to soothe him, knowing that it helped to settle Orochimaru’s nerves as well. Whoever had poisoned his mate for years could wait a day or two while they settled in with the knowledge that they were finally going to have another guppy. 

However, after that small reprieve, there was no force on earth nor in the spirit world that would prevent Sakumo from hunting down the culprit and carving payment from their flesh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *coughs* Well that went a little sideways from the original plan. Any guesses?


	26. Day 26 Nap (HashiMito Family)

Mito glided silently into the nest chamber and smiled down at her mate curled up on the bed, dead to the world, with their guppy draped over his tail, just as crashed out as her father. 

Hashirama’s hair floated and stirred in the light current that moved through their nest chamber but otherwise nothing moved. Her mate tired so easily now, with good reason, and often lost all the manic energy that so characterized his very personality.

She was grateful that Tobirama and Madara had taken up joint leadership of the Cove temporarily. If Hashirama had been forced to deal with Cove business in his condition, Mito would have reminded the entirety of the Cove that she was just as dangerous as her mate.

A gentle flick of her fins brought her in closer, her spines folding down as she lowered herself to run a hand down Hashirama’s arm where it curled around the swell of his belly. 

“Hmm?” He didn’t wake, only stretched a bit and shifted to give Mito better access.

Warmth bloomed in her breast at his subconscious recognition of her and Mito laid her hand softly on the mound of his belly. She felt a restless movement under her hand and trilled quietly in amusement. Their growing guppy was clearly just like Hashirama.

The trill did make Hashirama stir and dark eyes cracked open before he reached out and pulled Mito down with him so her body was cuddled against his. “Nap time.”

She draped her fins carefully over him and allowed him to pull her closer. “Are our guppies wearing you out Anata?” 

“Mmm.” Hashirama tucked his face into the crook of her neck, lips brushing against her gill covers. “Tsuna is scary and attentive. She barely allows me to get up before she’s darting off to bring whatever I mention to me. But our unborn guppy is active.” His tone was happy underneath the drowsiness. 

Mito dragged her fingers through Hashirama’s hair. “I’ll have to arrange for a treat for Tsunade. She’s been very good about her impending sibling.”

“Mmhmmm. Nap with us, beloved?” Hashirama curled his arm a little tighter around her. “The guppy always knows when you’re here and settles some.”

“Of course, Anata.” She pressed a kiss to his ear, love for him washing over and through her with the force of a tsunami. Her darling mate had refused to allow her to carry their second guppy after the troubles she’d had carrying and birthing Tsunade. He’d insisted that he carry any future guppies, that if they had another White like Tsunade his body was better suited to handle the strain. 

He wasn’t wrong. Tsunade had been a  _ large _ guppy and while Mito was nearly of a length with Hashirama she was quite slender. Birthing a Great White mer guppy had come close to ending her life, might very well have done so if not for Tobirama’s knowledge of human midwifery. 

Mito began to hum softly, a lullaby from her homeland to soothe Hashirama and the guppy he carried. 

Hashirama heaved a great sigh and went boneless against her as the guppy stilled. They were already headstrong and he wondered just what he and Mito were in for with adding more stubbornness to their family. Whatever they were in for it would be worth it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So basically, mers in this AU are functionally intersex. They can all get pregnant and impregnate another. 
> 
> The term Female is used for mers who are capable of sympathetic lactation. Female mers have noticeable breasts at all times after maturation with large mammary glands. Their breasts swell a great deal during a pregnancy, theirs or a close pod member's, and can hold a large reservoir of milk so they can put off nursing for a decent amount of time.
> 
> The term Male is used for mers who only lactate during and after a pregnancy. Male mers have flat chests and small mammary glands. Their breasts do not swell very much in pregnancy or during nursing and can not hold a great deal of milk in reserve. Which means they have to nurse often or they tend to leak very badly. That also means a male mer separated from their nursing guppy for a significant amount of time gets _damn_ cranky because it's uncomfortable and draws attention from wildlife they would rather not pester them.


	27. Day 27 Jewelry (Observation of Hanzo and Co)

Suspicious dark eyes studied the human vessel from a safe distance away and contemplated sinking it, scratching the humans aboard up a bit, and leaving them to drown and face the sharks. He didn't like humans. Didn't like the large fishing vessels that depleted the fish stocks, didn't like the garbage they tossed into the water, didn't like the way so many snuck onto the reef as stole living fish from the water for whatever reason, and he  _ certainly _ didn't like the way they slaughtered sharks by the thousands in the name of human 'safety' as though they had a _ right _ when they stepped into another being's world. No. He was very much _ not _ a fan of humanity and, as he watched the vessel pull up a net slowly and the humans aboard scramble to scoop the catch into tanks and scribble on boards of some sort, he gave deeper consideration to sinking.

Then he almost heard his sensei scolding in his ear. Reminding him that all people had the right to seek knowledge so long as they did no harm to the innocent. If there was anything Senju Tobirama had held sacred beyond his mate and children it had been scientific pursuits and answering questions about the world. If he killed off the humans on the research vessel simply for being there and researching the waters, he was almost certain his sensei would rise from the dead to berate him for it. His sensei's children would absolutely pitch a fit as well, despite one of them being the reason he was checking on the vessel in a roundabout way.

Not that it was the little snake's actual _ fault _ . It wasn't as though Orochimaru had asked the dolphin Warrior to sneak around and snatch instruments off of the research vessel. Nor had he asked the silly dolphin to leave behind coins from old wrecks in place of the instruments. But the coins had funded better equipment for these humans and their appearance after the loss of old equipment had fueled the humans' curiosity. Damn besotted dolphin.

So here he was, the only remaining one of his sensei's students who bothered to keep an eye on the little snake's welfare, watching a bunch of humans measure fish and wildlife just in case they decided to go closer to the Cove. 

Posideon's  _ balls _ but he missed Kagami and his incessant reminders to the others that Orochimaru was as much sensei's child as those of Tobirama's blood. He just didn't have the energy to do that. He was happy, however, that someone had taken a devoted interest in Orochimaru and was properly courting the little snake.

He heard one of the humans, the older one who seemed to be the leader, caution the others to be careful with the tiger shark they'd just pulled up. Curiosity and perhaps sympathy for his wild brethren had him swimming closer, far closer than was wise, to hear the human chatter.

"Yahiko keep her tail still as you can, if she thrashes she could hurt herself as much as us. Konan angle the water this way, there you go. That goes over her gills better. Nagato you have the radio tag?"

"Yes, Hanzo-sensei." 

"Pah! I'm not your professor anymore brat. Just Hanzo these days. Give it here. I don't want her out of the water longer than necessary to record her vitals and get the tag in."

The mer in the water listened to the man actually coo at the shark as he and his, apparently former, students did whatever it was that human scientists did. Amusement tickled through him at the difference between the gruff snapping orders to the other humans and the gentle crooning to the shark. Interesting human.

Soon enough he was watching the four humans scooting the tiger shark, with a dull piece of equipment embedded in the skin just at her dorsal fin like an unwanted piercing, back into the water. The shark no worse for the wear and quite cranky over her experience. Which showed when she thrashed at the last instant and knocked the older human overboard.

He sank under the surface, laughing softly at the yelps of the barely matured humans calling their sensei's name, and watching the human right himself. He saw the shark make a fast turn and go for the human's back then, moving without thought, he darted forward to block her.

He didn't know why really. Just that he strangely didn't want the shark to harm the human. 

As expected, she turned and swam off the instant she was no longer able to initiate a sneak attack. He turned as well, intending to swim off, and found the human close, gawking at him.

Oh.

Whale shit.


	28. Day 28 Encounter ( Danzo - yes you read that right )

“There you are! I was beginning to think you’d chickened out on me tiger boy.”

Flat, unamused black eyes stared at the human leaning over the side of the boat to grin down at him. “I have responsibilities that do not include indulging your curiosity Hanzo.”

“Hah! Like you’re not indulging your own curiosity about what we’re up to.” The human braced a hand then jumped over the side of the boat to land in the water beside the exasperatedly sighing mer. 

“You realize I am perfectly capable of sitting on the side of your vessel, don’t you?” He drawled once Hanzo’s head broke the surface.

“Sure but it makes you twitchy. Least I can do is bob in the water for a little bit. Not like my old hide isn’t used to being wet or having a bite taken out of it, Danzo.”

That was certainly true enough. He’d seen the scars littering the human scientist, recognized several as shark bites, though the most amusing one had to be the cookie cutter scar that was on Hanzo’s ass cheeks. He knew enough about humans to realize the humor in that. And he  _ was _ learning more by meeting with this little team doing independent study.

“Those responsibilities include anything to do with the mer that was ‘buying’ our equipment?” It had taken a few years to earn Danzo’s trust enough for him to tell them about that but it still amused the fuck out of Hanzo.

Danzo’s lips curved despite himself. “He and his mate have a guppy. I did drop by to visit.”

“Well congratulations to them!” Hanzo wrapped one hand around the rung of the dive ladder so he wasn’t tiring himself out kicking his legs. “One day you’ll tell me about how that works.”

“Perhaps. You should move your anchor spot soon. There’s been an odd boat cruising around the edges of the Cove territory. They’re agitating the rest of my people.”

Hanzo frowned. “Odd how? Anyone get the name or sight of the hull numbers?”

Danzo nodded, unsurprised when Hanzo snapped for Yahiko to bring over a clipboard. He gave the name and numbers and saw Hazno’s eyes go narrow and cold. “You recognize the vessel.”

“Yeah. Pirates, poachers, and glory hunters. They go around catching big sharks to sell the parts, pretending to be searching for living megalodons, and wrecking legitimate research boats.” Hanzo bared his teeth. “Fuckers. We’ll have to leave the area for a little while until they move on or are moved on by military.”

Danzo did  _ not _ like knowing the strange vessel was all that he despised of humanity. He’d report to Hiruzen and make certain mers avoided it. “I suppose it is a good thing I brought it up. Perhaps I should go so you can begin relocating.”

Hanzo’s lips compressed but he nodded. “Probably for the best. We’ll be back when they’re gone.” He turned and climbed up the dive ladder, barking for Yahiko and Konan to get everything together. He turned once onboard again, leaned back over the side, and offered a hand to Danzo. “See you later tiger boy.”

“I am likely older than  _ you _ are, Hanzo.” He reached out to clasp Hanzo’s hand regardless. “Be wary.”

“I’m a tough old bird. You’re just pretty,” Hanzo joked, squeezing the tiger shark mer’s hand before releasing it so he could help his research assistants pull up anchor.

Danzo sank under the water and started to swim home. He was halfway there when the niggling worry at the back of his mind prodded him into turning back around. Worried. For  _ humans _ . Kagami would have laughed his denticles off at him over this before wrapping around him to poke fun at his ‘softening’ attitude.

He was nearing the west edge of the Cove when he heard a loud crash carry through the water. He flicked his tail to swim faster and soon felt the vibrations of a struggle and caught the scent of human blood in the water just before he reached the scene of a confrontation.

The pirates had found Hanzo’s vessel.

Yahiko was face down in the water, blood turning the water around him dark, eyes open and unseeing. Hanzo was in the water as well, but he was alive, bleeding from his side, and trying to reach Yahiko’s body to reclaim it while Konan and Nagato fought back against the small crew of ruthless criminals that had attacked them.

A hissing curse spilled from Danzo’s lips and he swam up, catching Hanzo by the back of the idiot’s shirt, towing the fool back to his vessel and literally throwing him onto it. “Stay there!”

Knowing that the old bastard wouldn’t listen so long as his protege’s body was in the water, Danzo went back down to fetch Yahiko’s corpse.

Something speared down into the water and sliced into the side of his tail, a glance showed him a harpoon that had barely missed disabling his caudal fin. Danzo growled and grabbed it, ripping it out ruthlessly, claws slicing through the tether that would have been used to haul him out of the water.

He held the weapon in one hand and grabbed Yahiko’s body with the other to carry it to Hanzo. He handed the corpse off to a sobbing Konan, dove down, then swam quickly back up so he jumped from the water, throwing the harpoon hard at the fool pointing a human firearm Hanzo’s direction. 

The harpoon hit the human in the throat as Danzo dove back down. He sped up from the bottom again, this time aiming for the hull of the pirates’ ship, a coral rock from the bottom in hand. He rammed the hull. Once, twice, a third time that cracked it open.

The sound of bodies hitting the water registered as he rammed the hull again, aiming to fully disable and sink the vessel. He avoided the first few attempts at spearing him, just enough to fully wreck the hull and break the surface.

He met Hanzo’s eyes, his own hard and fierce, and bellowed, “GO! NOW!”

“You can’t take them all on alone!” Hanzo hand one hand on the dive ladder.

“You’ll be a distraction! They may have numbers but the sea is  _ my _ home. Get back to your own!” He felt a spear hit him in the side of his tail and didn’t waste more time. He trusted Hanzo’s two remaining students to get the old fool out of there.

He didn't have time to debate, he had a crew of pirates to kill.

* * *

Danzo managed to crawl his way back to the reef, blood and sharks waiting for an opportunity trailing behind him, and even to Saru’s den. He allowed the octopus mer to wrap his tentacles around him, an exhausted smile of satisfaction taking over his face. He reported sinking the pirates’ ship as they attacked the research vessel and even told the old cephalopod about his encounters with Hanzo and the three young scientists. Blood billowed from his gills as he laughed faintly. “I suppose you’re not completely wrong about humans you old crab eater. But let me tell you, the bad ones are  _ ventholes _ .”

As far as he was concerned that was the last word on the matter, something he’d never managed to get in a conversation with Saru before, so he closed his eyes, ignoring Saru bellowing for a healer, and died with a smile on his face.

Perhaps Kagami would be there to greet him in the afterlife.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh JFC did I really just make Danzo a good guy? I FEEL UNCLEAN.
> 
> He's a [Tiger Shark](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/fa/15/b2/fa15b23c6e0fe2c716dc9f53039e4163.jpg) mer btw.
> 
> Now if you'll excuse me I need to go purge myself of my sins.


	29. Day 29 Comb (MadaTobi)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How about a nice palate cleanser? *throws MadaTobi at you and runs away from day 27&28's shame*

The irritable mutters reached him long before he approached the sheltered grotto and a fond smile crept across his lips.

“Fucking mess. The grown ass guppy just couldn’t control himself. He  _ had _ to tackle me into the new beds then whine about me messing up the growing corals. Well whose fault was  _ that _ ? Fucking fat tailed giant. I should have tossed him into the other bed, let  _ his _ hair get tangled around corals and have  _ him _ stuck straightening a mess out. But no, no the bastard has the audacity to have hair that  _ doesn’t _ tangle. How the fuck does he even-”

The snarls and cursing and insults against their pod leader continued, much to the eavesdropper’s amusement. He heard a yelp and peeked around the grotto wall.

“What the fuck?! How did you even get in my hair you little ventspawn!” 

The observer bit his bottom lip to keep from laughing as he watched the reef shark mer shake a crab out of his mass of tangled dark hair.

“Get out you little shit. Don’t wave those claws at me, I will snap them up and have you for a fucking snack. Out! Out damned crab!”

The laugh broke free as the cursing mer slung his hair around in one hand trying to get the crab off without having to touch it.

Dark eyes snapped his way and a blush crawled over the reef shark mer’s face. “Tobirama,” it came out a growl, “if you aren’t here to help then fuck off.”

He swam fully into view, chuckling as hauled himself out of the water to sit just behind his frustrated mate. He caught the mass of hair in on hand and snatched the crab off with the other, flinging the little thing back into the water. “Mito mentioned that Hashirama had annoyed you today.”

Madara huffed. “The fucking idiot got excited touring the new growth.”

“And tackled you into it, I heard you ranting.” Tobirama prodded Madara to face away. He pulled a comb from a pouch that hung on his warrior belt and, starting at the very bottom of his mate’s mass of hair, began to untangle the wild mane. He carefully worked through snarls, picking bits of broken coral out, and smiled when he heard Madara make a pleased rumble in his chest. “He is happy that the plans for the reef wall are going well and you know how Hashirama gets when he is happy.”

“No self control, at  _ all _ .” Madara rolled his eyes but the complaint was slightly fond now that he wasn’t struggling with his hair. He relaxed, eyes half closing as he felt his mate gently straightening out the mess that his hair had become. “Mmm I should ask you to do this more often.”

Tobirama smiled. “Yes, you should. I could also braid it for you in the mornings so this happens less.” 

“You? The mer who doesn’t like to leave bed before noon if he can help it?” 

“I can stir myself from bed for things that are worth my while.” Tobirama’s fingers were dragging lightly over Madara’s scalp now, the comb moving smoothly through his hair. 

“Braiding my hair is worth your while?” Madara leaned back into the attention.

“Of course. I enjoy tending to your hair, enjoy that  _ you _ enjoy it.” Tobirama bent his head and pressed a kiss to the ball of Madara’s shoulder. “I do not carry a comb with me at all times for  _ my _ benefit after all.”

Madara turned his head to look at his mate. Their bond was still fresh, still new, and they hadn’t been able to spend a moon cycle alone together like most newly bonded couples. Both of them had too many duties to the Cove to allow for that. “I suppose, perhaps, I could be convinced.”

Tobirama lifted a brow. “And what, mate of mine, would I need to do in order to convince you?”

“An experiment.” Something playful and heated sparked in Madara’s eyes. “Since you’re such a scientific soul.”

That look made Tobirama’s heart thud in his chest and his blood heat. “I do enjoy experiments. What sort of experiment do you suggest?”

“Seeing as we’re very much alone, nothing and no one to interrupt and mess with the result, and private I think you should braid my hair and then,” Madara grinned, sharp teeth and sultry eyes, “do your absolute best to mess me up. If the braid holds up to you holding me down and fucking me I’ll be convinced it’s a good idea.”

Tobirama made a soft growl. “Far be it from me to argue against rigorous testing.”

“I thought you might feel that way.” Madara made another purring rumble as Tobirama began to deftly braid his hair, the both of them eager to test out how it held up.


	30. Day 30 Stars (Tobirama & Guppy Orochimaru)

A soft giggle drew Tobirama’s attention as he approached the seagrass bed where the starfish he’d been testing his theories on lived. He slowed his swimming to disturb the least amount of water and crept close to where he heard the giggle.

He stilled when he saw a mer snake guppy coiled up on themselves in the seagrass. Pale, as pale as Tobirama was himself, with lavender bands and dark hair, the guppy held out a hand with a clam in it and giggled again as one of the seastars crawled over their arm to get to the meal.

He noticed a net bag with some measurement tools, some of which looked to be human in origin, beside a thin board that had taken measurements scratched out on it. The board was clearly salvage, the tools likely the same, and the measurements marked down were several days of observation.

He smiled, impressed that this little guppy had taken advantage of Tobirama’s method of identifying his research subjects to differentiate between them and run their own research. It looked to be tracking the growth of the sea stars.

He watched the guppy feed, measure and mark down their findings on the starfish for a few minutes, giggling when the sea stars crawled over the white and lavender tail, then the guppy gently brushed the starfish off and swam to the surface for air.

Tobirama stayed where he was, unwilling to disturb the guppy and their learning, but on the dive back down the guppy spotted him and froze, golden eyes going wide.

The sea snake guppy started to curl in on themselves and something wrenched in Tobirama’s heart. He held a hand out, palm up, and spoke soothingly, “Do not be afraid. I will not hurt you.”

The guppy eyed him warily. “You’re the Pod Leader’s brother.”

“Yes, I am.”

“Most of the Pod dislikes me.” The end of the guppy’s long tail flicked in the water, a nervous tic, and golden eyes kept glancing down at the instruments and measurement record on the grassbed. 

Tobirama’s lips firmed a bit but he chose to sink down so that he was sitting on the bottom, as little of a threat as he could appear to be. “Many mers have a distaste for the unusual. It is foolish to fear or dislike someone merely because they are different. Do you not agree?”

The guppy slowly drifted down to the grassbed again, warily watching Tobirama. “Yes,” it came out hesitant, cautious as though they expected a trap. “Usually I just say they’re stupid but stupid people come in herds.”

Tobirama chuckled. “They do at that. What of your parents, little one?” 

Grief flashed over the guppy’s face and their tail curled around protectively. “They’re dead. They died when we got to the Cove.”

“I see.” Tobirama’s eyes were soft and sympathetic on the orphan guppy. “I am very sorry to hear that.”

The guppy shrugged, scooting cautiously closer to the instruments. “It was a long time ago.”

Tobirama went  _ still _ but his voice remained gentle as he asked, “How long?”

The guppy tilted their head, eyeing Tobirama curiously. No one had ever asked that before. “Four winters ago.”

Four years. This guppy had been on their own for  _ four years _ . Anger seared in Tobirama’s belly. “And you were not found foster parents?”

The guppy snorted. “No one wants a guppy with a venomous bite in their home.” Those golden eyes rolled. “I have a little den of my own. I don’t need anyone else.”

Oh. Oh when Tobirama saw the guppy welfare department next he would be sending them all to the  _ Vents _ for abandoning this guppy. “Everyone needs someone to support them, no matter how strong they are. What is your name?”

Confusion flickered in golden eyes. That was something else no one asked. “Orochimaru.”

“Orochimaru-kun, would you wish to have a family if you found people you could trust?” Tobirama wanted to scoop this guppy up and hold them safe and protected.

The little face pinched as the guppy thought it through. “I don’t know.”

Tobirama just nodded. “Understandable. May I ask what project you are working on?” He smiled faintly, encouragingly and felt relief slide through him when Orochimaru lit up, snatching his tools up and began to speak at length about the sea stars. 

He intended to build a rapport with this guppy and either find them a family or adopt them himself. He was certain that Madara would be more than willing when he told his mate about this, in fact he might just leave the guppy welfare department to Madara. His mate would raze their stupidity to the ground and Tobirama always enjoyed watching Madara destroy fools in righteous fury.


	31. Day 31 Farewell

A click of echolanguage caught his attention and he turned from where he was gathering some algae to scan the water behind him, making a click of his own to inspect what was beyond his vision. He tilted his head at the shapes he sensed. Dolphin mer and shark mer. 

A few more clicks to track their movements, twisting and swimming in delicate circles around each other. A courting pair likely though he didn’t recall seeing a dolphin and shark courting recently. A new development. He’d have to snoop around a little and dig up who it was.

For now there was nothing to be concerned over so he returned to his collecting, ignoring what he presumed were the clicks of the dolphin of the pair he’d sensed. He tucked algae in his collection bag and turned to move on.

And jerked back in surprise when he saw the striped dolphin mer just behind him.  **“Ah! Kakashi-san. You startled me.”**

**“Did I Healer Homura?”** There was a hard glint in Kakashi’s visible eye.

The look in that eye clanged his warning bell hard and Homura began swimming backward, eyes locked on the dolphin Warrior.  **“Yes, you did. I thought there was a courting pair nearby but I didn’t pick up on you.”**

“Well isn’t that a shame.” 

The mocking tone came from behind him and was one he recognized as the newly inducted Uchiha Warrior. He looked over his shoulder and saw the reef shark mer just above where he’d been collecting algae, arm crossed and expression a disgusted sneer.

Homura began edging to the right only to pull up short when the orca mer that had mated Kakashi appeared from the depths of the drop off.  **“Iruka. What is the meaning of this?”**

The orca mer just glared, jaw set angrily. There was a fury in usually soft eyes that spoke of barely leashed violence.

Wisely Homura moved to the left, and froze when a flash of orange and white darted out to block his way with fluttering, spined fins spread in a threat display.

Vibrant eyes as deep a blue as the water surrounding them stared angrily at Homura, and called back to the lionfish mer’s father and how very, very  _ unwise _ it had been to anger Minato.

A shadow from overhead drew Homura’s attention before he could say anything and he looked up to see Tsunade baring her teeth at him, blocking escape from above. He considered diving but a testing click informed him that the depths were blocked as well and when he looked he could just seen the red and white color of the squid mer that had latched onto Minato’s son years ago.

He was caged in with nowhere to go. Fear began to bubble in the back of his throat.  **“What is this about?”**

**“That’s bold question.”** Kakashi drawled, lazy but all the more lethal for it.  **“Why would the mers closest to my mother cage you in? I can’t imagine you don’t have a guess.”**

Homura’s eyes widened. They couldn’t know. They  _ couldn’t _ . He’d covered his trail very, very well, set up several scapegoats in the event it was discovered. It wasn’t possible for them to-

“You forgot to bribe the mer that distracted Orochimaru for you during the festival.” Naruto bared his teeth. “He was happy to give us a direction when faced with Sakumo’s temper-tebayo.”

**“Speaking of my father.”** Kakashi moved to the side, allowing Sakumo to take his place while he joined Iruka.

Homura tightened his grip on the collection spade as he was faced with an infuriated Sakumo. He hadn’t fought in decades but he’d kept up with his training. It was possible he could create an opening and flee.

**“I will give you** **_one_ ** **chance to explain yourself satisfactorily enough to save your life.”** Sakumo’s eyes were dark and stormy.  **“Choose your words carefully.”**

Homura swallowed, eyes darting around, looking for an opening,  _ any _ opening, and found none. The only thing he saw beyond the hunters caging him in was a very familiar cardinal fish mer that appeared beside Tsunade, her cold eyes judgemental upon him.

His shoulders slumped and he dropped the spade. There was no escape and perhaps he’d always know there would be a reckoning one day. He lifted his chin and damned himself to the vents.  **“Danzo died because your courtship of the snake brought curious humans deeper into our waters. He died to defend the humans you brought to us, all so you could impress Orochimaru. The poison was supposed to kill but I couldn’t quite get enough into either of you.”**

**“So you tried to murder my mate and myself to avenge Danzo-sama.”** Sakumo’s lips tightened. 

**“Yes. He’d be alive if-”**

“That is the most illogical, asinine thing I have ever heard in my life.” Koharu spoke, scathing judgement from above. “Danzo died with honor, defending not only humans but the Cove from immoral humans that would have been here with or  _ without _ the presence of Hanzo’s team. Your actions dishonor his memory.” She ended on a hiss.

**“Saru didn’t think so!”** Homura snapped back.

“What?!” 

**“He knew I was poisoning the snake. Maybe he thought infertility was the goal, I don’t know, but he knew and allowed me to continue. I only stopped when the poison became inaccessible due to the alliance with the human world. Saru was never very comfortable with a sea snake in the Cove.”**

“You sonuva-” Tsunade growled but held herself back when Sakumo held up a hand.

**“I don’t think we need anything more. You poisoned my mate in an attempt at murder for years. As a ‘side effect’ it prevented implantation of the few eggs that were able to release.”** Sakumo stared at Homura unwaveringly.  **“Pod Leader?”** He held still, waiting for permission.

“Execute him. You have the right.” Tsunade looped her arm around Koharu’s waist, understanding that she would hurt at the loss of the last of her fellow students. 

Sakumo moved so quickly he was a streak of silver, his blade cutting off Homura’s fluke, slicing through his shoulder tendons to disable his arms, then he was knocking him off the edge of the drop off, watching him sink, distressed clicks and whistles escaping. He would drown before he bled out, a painful end.

Naruto swam over to him and caught his arm, tugging gently. “C’mon. It’s over, he’s not a threat anymore, and Orochi-mama is waiting for news. Ino-chan will get jealous if he keeps picking Sakura-chan’s brain!”

Sakumo shook himself out of the dark mindset and allowed Naruto to pull him away from the drop off. The young mer was right. His mate was far more important than the garbage he’d tossed into the drop off.

Sasuke followed them as Tsunade led Koharu back to the reef and Gaara sank down into the abyss to ensure Homura met his end as Sakumo had intended.

It left Iruka and Kakashi hovering over the drop off. Iruka rolled his shoulders, shaking off tension, and wrapped his arms around his mate.  **“A little anticlimactic, do you think?”**

Kakashi made a soft sound that wasn’t quite a laugh.  **“I’ve seen mers do awful things in the name of their version of ‘justice’ and vengeance. Somehow I’m always surprised at the reason for their crimes.”**

Iruka nuzzled softly at Kakashi’s jaw.  **“If you weren’t, you’d lose an important part of what makes you the honorable mer you are, an important part of why I love you.”**

Kakashi turned to Iruka and rested his brow against his mate’s shoulder.  **“I want to be happy he’s dead, Iruka, but I’m not. I’m only relieved he can’t hurt Mama again.”**

Iruka dragged his claws through Kakashi’s hair.  **“I don’t think any of us are** **_happy_ ** **over an execution, beloved. None of us have that mean little seed in our hearts. Don’t dwell on this, Kakashi. It’s done and shouldn’t linger. Let Homura and his actions be forgotten and let us live our lives and be happy. There’s so much to be happy about, your impending sibling, Naruto’s acceptance as Tsunade’s successor, and I hear that a certain spearfish has been leaving gifts for our little red squid, let the darkness fade into the depths where it belongs.”**

**“I suppose you’re ri- wait what?”** Kakashi’s head came up and he stared at Iruka.  **“Lee? Gai’s protege is courting Gaara?”**

Iruka laughed and started to pull Kakashi away from the drop off with him.  **“That’s the rumor. Gai hasn’t heard yet I don’t think.”**

Kakashi made a soft whining click.  **“When he does he’ll insist on celebrating. Iruka, Gai will come to our den crying and demanding I swim celebratory laps with him.”**

**“Yes, he probably will. And imagine how he’ll react to see you looking so down.”** Iruka laughed at Kakashi’s expression of horror.

**“That was** **_mean_ ** **.”**

**“I’m an orca. Of course I’m mean now and then. You like it.”** Iruka flicked his fluke playfully, rubbing his body along Kakashi’s before shooting ahead to offer his mate a chase.

It would take Kakashi’s mind off dark thoughts and Iruka would enjoy being caught. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Homura is a [Bottlenose Dolphin](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/static/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2008/04/17/dolphin11a.jpg?width=300&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=1e1c822ed6796315894a6edf8db990cc) mer.  
> Lee is a [shortbill spearfish](https://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/03/d2/f8/31/kila-kila-sportfishing.%20Gabe%20Heflin.jpg) mer.
> 
> AND WE'RE DONE!
> 
> At some point I will be revisiting this universe but for now, MerMay is concluded. Thank you for coming on this ride with me.


End file.
